Lincolnshire workers £20 worse off per week than 5 years ago

Workers in Lincolnshire are more than £20 worse off a week than they were in 2007, according to a new Trades Union Congress (TUC) study.

The figures, as part of TUC’s Britain Needs a Pay Rise campaign, show that across the UK workers are on average £30 worse off than they were five years ago.

The figures were complied by comparing 2007 figures for a 40-hour work week with the same rate in 2012.

In Lincolnshire, workers are on average £20.19 worse off than they were in 2007, according to the study.

The worst affected around the county is North East Lincolnshire, which has dropped by £53.86.

The council district with the worst cut in the UK is Darlington, where workers are £75 worse off.

The figures also looked at the gender split of the changes in wages, and found men on average suffered the worst drop in wages, with a cut of £40.14 to women’s £19.96.

The was also reflected in Lincolnshire, where the average cut to men’s wage for a 40-hour work week was £29.96, while women’s dropped by £6.81, but this is due to men having higher wages on average.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Workers’ real hourly pay rates have taken a hit over the past five years because wages have failed to keep up with inflation. But this fall is also a result of the worrying increase in insecure and short-hours employment.

“With real wages still falling, most people are being forced to use their credit cards or their dwindling savings if they need to purchase anything beyond the most everyday of items.”

David Thorpe, Development Manager at the Lincolnshire & Peterborough branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, said the TUC data showed a worrying trend.

He said: “Wage restraint in recent years is a response to the recession and the sluggish pace of recovery which have had a significant negative impact on consumer demand and business confidence.

“So although the TUC report findings are not a major surprise, there is still a need to ensure that businesses are able to flourish and grow so that higher wages become affordable and in turn lead to higher consumer spending.

“Barriers to business growth include rising overhead costs, access to finance and late payment by debtors.

“With help from the policy makers on these issues the small and medium-sized businesses of the county will be better placed to lead us into recovery,” he added.

At present, the City of Lincoln Council and North Kesteven District Council pay their employees the Living Wage or higher.