Wales TUC – Workers in Swansea are set to lose over £1,000 in real wages this year

• New Wales TUC analysis shows workers in Swansea are set to be over £1,000 a year worse off in 2022 – after inflation – than last year
• Years of weak wage growth have left families “badly exposed” to cost-of-living crisis, says Wales TUC
• Analysis published as the Wales TUC brings workers and trade union leaders together for a rally in Swansea on Monday 10 Oct ahead of a UK parliamentary lobby on 2 November

Pay packets in Swansea are set to be worth over £1,000 a year less this year – in real terms, that is once inflation has been taken into consideration – than in 2021, according to new Wales TUC analysis.

The analysis of official data shows that average real wages will fall by around £1,031 compared to last year.

The stark findings are published as the Wales TUC and Swansea Trades Council bring together union leaders and workers in Swansea on Monday ahead of the union body’s National Day of Action to demand better for working people – and a UK parliamentary lobby on 2 November. Speakers at Monday’s rally will include leading figures from the RMT, NEU, PCS and Wales TUC.

The analysis shows the median salary in Swansea in 2021 was £23,383. Wales TUC analysis, based on Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts, shows the value of wages in Swansea will fall by around £1,031 as soaring inflation outstrips the increase in wages.

The Wales TUC says years of stagnating pay have left workers “badly exposed” to Britain’s cost of living crisis.

The union body says the UK Government must take urgent action to raise wages and protect families from spiralling household costs.

Urgent action

The Wales TUC says governments in Westminster and Cardiff must:

Raise wages and improve workers’ rights by:

• Introducing a £15 minimum wage as soon as possible
• Providing funding for a fair pay rise for all public sector workers
• Banning zero-hours contracts and fire and rehire
• Bringing forward inflation-proof raises to universal credit and pensions to October
• Introducing new bargaining rights for whole industries and protecting the right to strike
• Raising women’s incomes and stopping workplace racism

Reduce household costs by:

• Cutting energy bills, nationalising energy retail and setting up a new public energy champion
• Rolling out a rapid programme of home insulation

Wales TUC General Secretary Shavanah Taj said:

“Families are under intolerable financial pressure with costs spiralling out of control.

“Workers in Wales are facing the biggest fall in living standards in generations.

“We have workers in the public sector in Wales who are pawning possessions, taking second jobs and turning to gambling to make ends meet.

“Workers deserve better. Governments in Cardiff and London must do more to help working people have a decent standard of living – starting with getting wages rising.

“Now is the time for workers to come together and demand better.”