GMB pay analysis

Straight lift from the GMB site:

A new GMB analysis of pay by occupation for April 2007 shows that directors and chief executives of major organisations earned an average of £214,062 per year. This is 714% of the UKaverage wage of £29,999 for full time staff. It is 20 times what those at the bottom earn. Next were brokers on £101,627 or 339% of the UK average. They were followed by financial managers and chartered secretaries on £84,063 (280%) and medical practitioners £78,882 (263%). Fifth in the occupational pay league were senior officers in national government on £69,404 (231%) followed by aircraft pilots and flight engineers on £65,285 (218%).

At the other end of the league in the bottom ten, the lowest in 341stposition were waiters and waitresses on £11,303 (38%), School middayassistants on £11,439 (38%) were the next lowest. Also in the bottom ten were playgroup leaders/assistants earning £11,550 (39%) and above them were retail cashiers and check-out operators on £12,295 (41%). On around £12,500 or 42% of the UKaverage are a group occupations including kitchen and catering staff, laundry staff, florists and bar staff. Just above them are hairdressers and barbers on £12,928 (43%).

There is a group of occupations earning around the UK average of £29,999. These are storage and warehouse managers, rail construction and maintenance operatives, engineering technicians and researchers (not elsewhere classified).

Train drivers at 55th in the league are the highest paid manual workers earning an average of £37,234 (124%). Journalists are in 79th position earning £33,203 (111%). Nurses come 138th earning £27,234 (91%).

The construction trades workers are as follows: scaffolders, stagers and riggers £29,215 (97%), electricians £26,952 (90%), steel erectors £26,205 (87%), plumbers £25,885 (86%), bricklayers £23,561 (79%), welders £23,354 (78%), carpenters and joiners £23,147 (77%), plasters £21,901 (73%) and roofer, roof tillers and slaters £21,212 (71%).

Paul Kenny, GMB General Secretary said, "There are some people at the top earning forty and fifty times those at the bottom. We are asked to believe that those at the top need to be 'incentivised' by multi-million pay packages to maintain a dynamic economy, while at the same time those at the bottom in the public sector must make sacrifices for the good of the economy.

GMB members do not buy this logic. Those at the top are unnecessarily being paid too much and there is no evidence that there is any benefit from this except to line the pockets of an elite. GMB want to see the tax system used to even out the rewards and GMB want the National Minimum Wage to rise to £7 per hour to help those at the bottom."