‘Damning indictment of economic record’ - Wages in South Tyneside are worth less than in 2008

New data from Trades Union Congress (TUC) has revealed that “real wages” are still below the 2008 level in South Tyneside.

The TUC has stated that this is the case in more than half of the North East’s local authorities - with the borough being one of six in the region.

The North East local authorities where wages are lower (in real terms) than in 2008 are:

• County Durham UA
• Gateshead
• Hartlepool UA
• Redcar and Cleveland UA
• South Tyneside
• Sunderland

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The data shows that 16 years on from the financial crash of 2008, wages are lower (in real teams) that they were before the economic event.

Across the North East as a whole, the average weekly pay is just £2-a-week higher (in real terms) than it was in 2008 - with wages in every North East local authority far below where they would be if they had grown at the pre-2008 growth rate.

The TUC has estimated that if wage growth had been sustained, the average North East worker would now be £160-a-week better off.

Liz Blackshaw, the TUC regional secretary, has slammed the Conservative Party for its failure to growth wages since it took office in 2010.

She said: “Hard work should pay for everyone. But people are still worse off than in 2008 in many parts of the North East.

“And in every corner of the region pay growth is way below historic trends.

“This is a damning indictment of the Conservatives’ economic record. This is the same government that’s given us the most dramatic fall in living standards on record.

“The Tories failure to grow the economy - and their scorched-earth austerity policies – has decimated family budgets.

“Just imagine how much better off people would be if they had an extra £160 a week in their pay packets – and how much more prosperous the country would be.

“It doesn’t have to be this way. We can create a new era of decent pay growth again where families’ living standards rise rather than falling backwards.

“But we need a new approach to get there. That means a proper plan to get the economy growing again by investing in UK industry, and a New Deal so that working people get a fair share of the wealth they create.”