Real regular pay (wages adjusted for prices & bonus payments) across the board was 2.8% lower in the three months to May than in the same period of 2021 - the sixth monthly decline in a row, & the biggest drop since modern records began in 2001.
The latest ONS figures show total pay growth of 7.2% in the private sector compared with just 1.5% in the public sector. Many unions are threatening strikes if the Govt holds pay rises below 5% for the current financial year, while inflation is above 9%.
Boris Johnson’s cabinet is on today (Tuesday) due to sign off on wage settlements covering 2.5 million public sector workers, in one of the most significant decisions left to be taken by his caretaker government.
Unions representing teachers, health workers & civil servants have warned of widespread disruption if ministers approve further real-terms pay cuts for the coming year.
Today's data reveals the almost fivefold disparity between private & public sector pay growth.
Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teachers’ union, accused ministers of “contempt” for public sector workers. “If the government hopes that teachers’ anger will dissipate over the course of the summer break, they are wrong.”
The number of unfilled jobs edged up to a record of 1.294mn, although the ONS said the rate of growth in vacancies had slowed.
Growth in average weekly earnings, including bonuses, was 6.2% in the three months to May, equivalent to a real-terms pay cut of 0.9%.
Growth in regular weekly earnings of 4.3% equated to a real-terms pay cut of 2.8% — a record drop.
The tight labour market has given some workers more bargaining power, allowing them to secure bigger wage rises to go at least some way to offset the national #CostOfLivingCrisis.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Echoing objections to social-media fuelled violence from the government of the UK & others, the Chamber of Progress, a tech business advocacy group, is urging delusional adolescent billionaire Musk to take his leadership role at @X more seriously - or resign if he cannot do so.
Since July 29 when right-wing influencers made false claims on Twitter/@X & other social media platforms that falsely blamed the murder of three children on Muslims & asylum-seeking immigrants, dozens of far-right #FarageRiots erupted around the nation.
The #FarageRiots started with a lie – a fake name and false information that suggested the teenager alleged to have killed three young girls in #Southport was a Muslim asylum seeker. He was neither.
There is an uncomfortable hypocrisy at the heart of this story, which is that people didn’t react the same way when, earlier this year, a white man killed a 14-year-old black boy, Daniel Anjorin, with a sword.
While that perpetrator was treated as a horrific anomaly, the Southport attacker was viewed by racist rioters as representative of migrants & Muslims, despite being neither.
A psychologist explains the cognitive biases and psychological responses behind this disparate treatment.
Researchers have developed & articulated the concept of “everyday extremism” to acknowledge that extreme narratives derived from non-mainstream sources can become a part of mainstream political discourse via social media.
As usual, @elonmusk takes a half-truth, removes important context, then selectively presents a misleading claim implying something about contemporary society, in this case mobilising a 'white victimhood' racist dog whistle narrative to fuel anger, division, & engagement.
Musk presents the claim that the etymological origins of the word word slave derives solely from the exploitation of 'white people', rather than, say, emphasising how religious texts from Judaism, Islam & Christianity all recognise slaves as a separate class of people in society.
Before examining Musk's misleading claim, it's worth knowing that the word 'Slav' refers to a member of the most numerous ethnic & linguistic body of peoples in Europe, residing chiefly in eastern & southeastern Europe but extending also across northern Asia to the Pacific Ocean.
#NEW opinion poll: "73% of the British public say that the riots are shaming rather than standing up for Britain, & the public overwhelmingly believe that those helping clear up after the riots (87%) represent British values." - @Moreincommon_ 🇬🇧
Rather than attitudes to the riots sitting in two contrasting pro- & anti-riots camps, public opinion is akin to Russian Dolls: small groups are willing to condone the riots but much bigger groups with opinions cited as motivation for the violence condemn it without hesitation.
The smallest group are those who express support for the unrest: 7% of the public say they are ashamed Britain is a multi-ethnic country; 8% think violent demonstrations outside asylum seeker accommodation are acceptable; & the 11% who have a positive opinion of Tommy Robinson.