YEARS of falling wages after more than a decade of Tory austerity have left workers over £1,000 a year worse off, Labour warned today.

Office for National Statistics data shows that the average worker has suffered an annual pay cut of £1,040 since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, the party said.

If adjusted for inflation during the period, the average weekly wage should be £609.40, Labour said, but the actual figure is £589.70 — a reduction of £20 per week, totalling £1,040 a year.

The damning figures show that wages fell by 3.45 per cent on average, but some workers have fared much worse than others.

In England, about three-quarters of communities in Yorkshire, the north-east, east and south-east saw their take-home pay fall, while less than half (44 per cent) of Scottish constituencies suffered a real-terms cut.

Nearly seven in 10 (68 per cent) Welsh communities endured a decrease, while 64 per cent of Londoners were hit.

Reacting to the figures, Labour demanded an immediate increase in the minimum wage to at least £10 an hour to help redress the balance as Britain looks to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Deputy leader Angela Rayner accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of failing working people. 

“In-work poverty is at record levels and millions of people are struggling to make ends meet, while mates of ministers and Conservative donors are given billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money,” she said. 

“Everyone should earn a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work and earn enough to raise a family and live a decent, secure and fulfilling life.

“It is a sign of a broken economic model that people working full-time or even multiple jobs are not able to make ends meet and millions of children are growing up in poverty in working families.”

Ms Rayner, who is also Labour’s shadow secretary of state for the future of work, added that it was time to “make our economy work for working people.

“Labour would immediately raise the minimum wage and give workers more power in discussions about pay and benefits, by supporting people to negotiate pay rises collectively with all workers in their sector, so they can get the fair pay that they deserve.”