‘Wage restraint’ slammed

The GMB general union has written to Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey, inviting him to work as a carer for the day before he talks about “wage restraint”.

Bailey, who last year was paid £575,000, came under intense criticism for suggesting workers should not ask for big pay rises to help curb inflation.

GMB general secretary Gary Smith said: “Andrew Bailey should spend a day shadowing the low-paid workers in the care sector upon whom ‘restraint’ has been imposed for too long.

“These are the predominately women workers at the front line of the pandemic, who are putting their own lives at risk to care for some of the most vulnerable members of society.” Smith pointed out that the majority of these workers “earn pennies more than the National Minimum Wage”.

He added: After working a shift, I would be interested to know whether those workers should show ‘restraint’ against the mounting cost of living crisis. I hope that Mr Bailey will be prepared to explain his reasoning to the people his apparent policy would affect.”

The union has also launched a campaign against derecognition at Barchester Healthcare, which employs 16,000 carers in homes across the UK. GMB lead organiser Rachel Fagan said that if the government genuinely wants to help level-up low-paid workers, “it cannot possibly be relaxed about care bosses stepping up the decade-long race-to-the-bottom” on their rights.