The latest monthly statistics released by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) confirm that while overall pay for workers in the region has risen, it has fallen behind the rising cost of living, and the increases elsewhere in the UK.

Median gross pay for Northern Ireland workers in July was £2,103 compared to £2,274 in the wider UK (an 8.1% differential) and while this represented a 7.5% increase on the year – this falls behind both the increase in UK median pay (7.8%) and the Retail Price Index (RPI) of 10.7%.

Commenting, Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said:

“The battle to push up pay has been hard fought and it’s certainly far from over. Our economy is broken. Everyday people are still suffering. These statistics are clear – workers in Northern Ireland continue to be paid even less than workers elsewhere in the UK. This is simply unacceptable. Trade unions remain especially vital during a cost-of-living crisis that government is doing little to solve.”

Unite Regional Secretary Susan Fitzgerald added:

“These statistics confirm the brutal impact that inflation is having on working-class people across Northern Ireland. The huge growth of in-work poverty means more and more workers are being forced to make impossible choices and to take on more than one job, simply to survive.”

“By comparison, Unite-unionised workforces are negotiating significant pay improvements from a position of industrial strength. The message coming out of these stats is clear – workers need to get active to turn the tide of poverty and immiseration”, Ms Fitzgerald concluded.