“Workers in the South West are £1,500 a year worse off in real terms than they were before the financial crash, according to new figures published by the TUC.
The analysis shows that real wages in the region are 6.7 per cent lower, on average, than they were in 2008. …
One in three jobs created in the South West since 2011 have been in insecure work, according to the figures. The TUC estimates that 281,223 people now work in insecure jobs in the region. That represents one in 10 workers in the South West.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Workers in the South West are £1,500 a year worse off than before the crash.
“This region badly needs a pay rise. It’s nearly ten years since the financial crisis, and working people are still suffering. Politicians have to explain to voters how they’ll create decent jobs that people can actually live on.
“And there needs to be recognition of the damage pay restrictions in the public sector are having. Hard-working nurses shouldn’t have to use food banks to get by.”
http://www.devonlive.com/figures-reveal-devon-workers-are-1-500-a-year-worse-off-than-in-2008/story-30369615-detail/story.html
AND YET:
“The head of a publicly funded body tasked with boosting prosperity in Devon and Somerset has been awarded a 26 per cent pay rise.
Chris Garcia will now earn £115,000 a year for his role as chief executive of the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership.
The controversial proposal was approved by the LEP board at a meeting in Tiverton on Tuesday, January 17.
Devon County Council had signalled that its representative on the board, Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, would vote against the proposed pay award in light of “the tight financial times in which we live”.
http://www.devonlive.com/figures-reveal-devon-workers-are-1-500-a-year-worse-off-than-in-2008/story-30369615-detail/story.html
East Devon Watch 