TUC: Workers Are £5,000 Worse Off Post Crash

A report by the TUC has found that if average earnings had grown at the same rate as in the years before the 2008 financial crisis, UK workers would be almost £5,000 a year better off.

The trade union organisation said eight years of economic under-performance had left productivity 16% below its pre-recession trend.

It said low productivity had affected wage rises by an average of £95 a week - almost £5,000 a year.

In its report the TUC also pointed to “weak” growth in business investment over the period.

As part of its pre-Budget statement, the TUC urged the Government to take action to boost productivity, and to pull back from any plans to cut spending.

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "The Chancellor can say what he likes in the Budget - the history books already record him as the man who delivered the slowest recovery in modern history.

"The Government's failure to get productivity growing again has hit workers in the pocket, leaving them £100 a week worse off.”

She added: "It's time the Government stopped blaming others for its failure to mend the economy and took responsibility for delivering high productivity growth that everyone shares in.

"A new round of extreme cuts will do nothing to increase productivity and will harm growth and wages.

"We need strong, sustainable growth which can only be delivered with a major programme of investment in skills, infrastructure, innovation and high-quality public services.

Ms O’Grady added that when productivity growth was restored, the Government had to ensure workers received their fair share through higher wages and decent working conditions.

“Britain's working people are the true wealth creators and they deserve better than the crumbs from the boardroom table," she insisted.

Chancellor George Osborne is expected to detail future spending cuts in his Budget on 8 July .

:: Watch the Budget live on Sky News on 8 July