Mann: 2018 was it 'shaft or share' over earnings? We'll soon know.

“The annual earnings survey is not just a time of rejoicing for workers it's also a ‘happy time’ for the likes of Chris Thomas MHK who can pop up in the portal to claim 'black is white' and clarify any anomalies..”

It's almost time for publication of the IOM AVERAGE EARNINGS SURVEY so workers will soon know if it was shaft or share time in 2018. Certainly we know who is on the list to be ‘shafted' in 2019, new entrants to the Post Office.

Last year's manual earnings dropped dramatically in the published survey but the government statisticians explained this away by averring that an anomaly in the previous year's earnings were to blame. I would post their actual comment but the earnings survey is subject to government copyright and I don’t want to be indicted for ‘distorting things’ although I would find that quite rich.

Government have been driving down real earnings for about a decade but miraculously each year when the ‘stats’ come out things improve. Even workers in hospitality a notorious area for pay do well in the survey and can get we are told X hundreds of pounds a week for working an average of 30 hours. I have a fair bit of time on my hands these days so I’m thinking of getting a part time job waiting on tables for the summer that cheque for about £1500 a month will come in really handy for paying the tax bill Alf and Nicola apply to my pension.

The annual earnings survey is not just a time of rejoicing for workers it's also a ‘happy time’ for the likes of Chris Thomas MHK who can pop up in the portal to claim ‘black is white’ and clarify any anomalies as Tim Glover looks on bemusedly!

Can’t wait really!

Bernard Moffatt