Global Wage Report Calls for Collective Bargaining, Minimum Wages and Social Protection
Brussels, 15 December 2010 (ITUC OnLine): The ITUC has welcomed the second Global Wage Report from the International
Labour Organization (ILO). "Today's report reinforces what unions around the world have been saying about the economic
crisis and the policy responses that governments need to put in place," said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.
The ILO confirms that global wages have stagnated during the crisis. Excluding questionable figures for China and
adjusting for inflation, global wage growth slowed from 2.2% in 2007 to only 0.8% in 2008 and 0.7% in 2009.
While these world averages remained slightly positive, wages actually decreased in many countries. "Even workers who
remained employed during the crisis experienced flat or falling pay," observed Burrow.
Over-reliance on exports and consumer borrowing for economic growth has proven to be unsustainable. To achieve a
meaningful economic recovery, countries need to increase domestic demand based on rising wages and a more equal
distribution of income. The ILO emphasizes three policy solutions in today's report: inclusive collective bargaining,
legislated minimum wages, and social protection programmes.
In addition to providing new data on wages during the crisis, the report also presents a longer-term analysis of low
pay, defined as being below two-thirds of a country's median wage. Since the late 1990s, the incidence of low pay has
increased in two-thirds of the countries for which figures are available.
However, the ILO found that low pay is much less prevalent in countries with higher levels of union membership. "Unions
are part of the solution, in terms of ensuring that wages rise along with productivity and that these gains are shared
fairly," said Burrow.
ENDS