Be militant in fight for jobs and wages

THE living standards of Britain’s vast proletariat have been undermined so efficiently during the past six years that we are back to levels unseen since World War II.

This was recently confirmed by the fiercely pro-austerity Institute for Fiscal Studies, which now appears to admit cuts and privatisation are a slippery slope to the perils of wage slavery. Between 2007 and 2015 real-terms wages have slumped by 10.4%. Living costs are soaring and harsh welfare “reforms” are hitting low-income families hard, particularly where one or more member has a disability or mental health issue.

Many millions of workers have been denied a decent pay rise, and the IFS gloomily predicts that wages will most likely not rise in real terms until 2021. Real average earnings – including the factor of rising inflation – are forecast to rise by less than 5% over the next five years, 3.7% lower than projected in March.

Not that we are all suffering equally, of course. Recent research by the Trade Union Congress has revealed that the average FTSE 100 chief executive “earns” a whopping 123 times the average worker’s full-time salary, and directors’ pay swelled by 47% between 2010 and 2015.

However, the trade union movement must do more than conduct research. By suggesting they are more interested in jobs than pay, union leaders are admitting failure in their ability to campaign for both. Pay rises are not merely handed over by benevolent employers or governments if we ask nicely.

We must all fight for decent jobs, wages and living conditions for all, including every young worker left behind by the so-called National Living Wage. We need to get genuinely militant now.