Labour market

We’re all in it together – does that include bankers?

9th December 2010 — Filed under: Labour market

Paul Sellers Paul Sellers

Are we really all in it together? As we count down the shopping days until Christmas new figures from ONS show that mean average salaries only increased by 0.2% during the last year, but this national average hides a wide range of real outcomes.

Some people have been hit particularly badly. For example, average salaries for employees in the agricultural sector actually fell by 8.5%. This makes the Government’s plans to abolish the Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales look absolutely nonsensical, unless their secret plan is to increase rural poverty.

In sharp contrast though, average pay in the banking sector rose by 11.3%, with increases heavily skewed towards those at the top of the industry. Banking bonuses are back with a bang, rising by a cool 43.8% – jeroboams all round!

7 Responses to We’re all in it together – does that include bankers?

  1. Trackback made by Tweets that mention We’re all in it together – does that include bankers? | ToUChstone blog: A public policy blog from the TUC -- Topsy.com on Dec 9th 2010 at 1:41 pm:

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by ToUChstone blog, Michael Ellis, Broken OfBritain, Mhairi Gordon, Mhairi Gordon and others. Mhairi Gordon said: RT @FalseEcon: We’re all in it together – does that include bankers? http://bit.ly/gxb3yW (via @touchstoneblog) [...]

  2. Trackback made by Students protest again as the Liberal Democrats implode over university fees and the Wikileaks saga rumbles on: blog round up for 4 – 10 December » British politics and policy at LSE on Dec 11th 2010 at 10:04 am:

    [...] Robert Preston argues that the new bank levy will hit big banks hardest as the TUC ask whether we really are all in this together. [...]

  3. Comment made by The Squeeze on Dec 11th 2010 at 11:26 pm:

    Of course we’re not ‘all in it together’! savers are being screwed to bail out borrowers and tenants are being shafted in favour of homeowners (or their landlords).

  4. Comment made by Tokyo Gaijin on Dec 12th 2010 at 2:39 pm:

    Agricultural Wages Board ? just what did they do ?

  5. Comment made by Tokyo Gaijin on Dec 12th 2010 at 2:42 pm:

    apart from intefere with market processes

  6. Comment made by Tokyo Gaijin on Dec 12th 2010 at 2:42 pm:

    to the detriment of the majority

  7. Paul Sellers

    Comment made by Paul Sellers on Dec 13th 2010 at 10:00 am:

    “Interfere with market processes” – oh dear, how sad, never-mind!

    Tokyo Gaijin sounds like a British banker working in Japan (a “Gaijin” is a Japanese expression for a foreign worker がいこくじん ) – i’ll bet that TG has never had to work for £5.93 per hour.