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The Wages Jungle

In: Workers and the New Depression

Author

Listed:
  • Robert Taylor

Abstract

Britain’s complex pay bargaining system has come in for considerable criticism during the past twenty-five years. It is now widely regarded as a major cause of home-grown inflation, which has helped to ensure the country is increasingly uncompetitive on international markets because of our high unit labour costs. ‘We have been pricing ourselves out of markets’, warned Sir Geoffrey Howe, the Chancellor of the Exchequer in July 1980. ‘Around two thirds of our loss of competitiveness over the past two years has been due to the increase in UK unit labour costs in comparison with competitor countries. Not only have pay levels increased much faster here than overseas, but we have not earned them by faster increases in productivity’.1 Table 2.1 shows the rise in income over the period 1970–9.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Taylor, 1982. "The Wages Jungle," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Workers and the New Depression, chapter 2, pages 46-78, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-349-16923-8_2
    DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-16923-8_2
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