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Not read the RF report, but there's also the underlying reality of rising housing costs in addition to stagnating wages over the next decade — see modelling from the JRF here: https://x.com/alfie_stirling/status/1851686979693425131
Would be curious to know if there are proposals, as I wonder what a goverment can realistically do to increase wages.
I'd imagine they're hanging their hat on the minimum wage increase, planning reform, and the upcoming employment rights bill to take up some of the slack. Honestly though, the employer national insurance increase was just a bad idea — it'll likely put downward pressure on wages in the long term, since it's a tax on turnover rather than profit.
The NI increase may even kickstart companies moving people from more secure salaries into the gig economy, so I hope Labour are still pushing the merger between employee and worker status to make sure this doesn't happen.
Is this actually symptomatic of a system of a market that has driven efficiencies of returns for shareholders while not creating a sufficient number of new high paying jobs?
Without doubt, sadly.
slippers-
The NI increase may even kickstart companies moving people from more secure salaries into the gig economy, so I hope Labour are still pushing the merger between employee and worker status to make sure this doesn't happen.
I'm not a pal of Neuvo New Labour (and my feeling is generally they were nowhere near brave enough with this budget) but this is conjecture. Despite vocal whining from the Director class, it's clear businesses can and should swallow this hike. The very rational being would simply point out that in recent years businesses have generally been able to grow profits or engage in pretty brazen profiteering (margins rose 30% avg post-pandemic) all whilst wages stagnated.
Pan-sector wage depression directly related to this rate change is unlikely, and though there will be sharks that use this as an excuse to try minimise wage and try and move employees to less formal engagements in the micro, wage dynamics are generally more complex and robust than that.
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Don't suppose anyone has read the underlying report from the resolution foundation?
Would be curious to know if there are proposals, as I wonder what a goverment can realistically do to increase wages. Is this actually symptomatic of a system of a market that has driven efficiencies of returns for shareholders while not creating a sufficient number of new high paying jobs?