Workplace Report (November 2024)

Editor's Note: Pay may have overtaken inflation, but bumps lie ahead

LRD's 2023/24 annual pay survey, based on Payline data, offers an important insight into how working people are facing ongoing cost of living pressures. The LRD is grateful to all those unions who provide us with this vital information on the deals they have reached.

We have devoted seven pages to the 2023/4 pay survey (pages 17-23) and, as well as an overview of both private and public sector pay and conditions, it contains details of the deals that individual companies and unions have reached. Some have been major wins and, in setting out a sometimes positive story, we hope that union officials, representatives and activists will find inspiration and a useful benchmark for their negotiations and discussions.

However, upward pay pressure in the labour market now appears to be dropping off. As explained on page 4, wage growth as measured by the ONS fell to 4.9% in the three months to August, which is the first time since June 2022 that the headline figure has been below 5%. The Resolution Foundation's warning that “the UK’s brief era of healthy real terms pay growth” could be coming to an end soon, is a reminder that efforts will need to be redoubled to secure further wins.

In this context, the Employment Rights Bill is a significant step forward in the Government's Make Work Pay agenda, and union reaction to the Bill is covered on page 7.


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