Bank of England boss invited to work as a care worker before asking them to shun pay rises

The Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey, who was paid £575,000 last year, has been criticised for telling the public not to ask for big pay rises and has been invited to work as a care worker to learn what it's like to cover a minimum wage shift.

With care workers battling to provide care while facing a cost of living crisis, the Bank of England boss has recommended workers should not ask for big pay rises to help curb inflation.

The Bank of England has forecast that inflation, which increased to 5.4 per cent in December, could rise to 7 per cent in April.

Mr Bailey said interest rates would have to rise more if wages rose in line with inflation, causing unemployment to increase and has urged “restraint” on salary demands to avoid fuelling an upward spiral in prices.

Andrew Bailey said: “I'm not saying nobody gets a pay rise, don't get me wrong, but I think what I'm saying is we do need to see restraint in pay bargaining otherwise it will get out of control.

“We do need to see a moderation of wage rises. I don’t want to any sense sugar that…it is painful”.

In response, the trade union GMB has invited Mr Bailey to work as a care worker for the day before he advises about “wage restraint.”

In a letter written to Mr Bailey by GMB general secretary Gary Smith, the Bank of England chief is urged to spend a day shadowing low-paid care workers “upon whom restraint has been imposed for too long.”

Low paid 'putting their own lives at risk to care'

The GMB's letter stated: ‘These are the predominately women workers at the front line of the pandemic, who are putting their own lives at risk to care for some of the most vulnerable members of society. The majority of those workers earn pennies more than the National Minimum Wage.

‘After working a shift, I would be interested to know whether those workers should show ‘restraint’ against the mounting cost of living crisis.

‘You do not appear to have called for restraint in price setting, or dividend payments.

'And our members know that inflation is being driven by energy prices and supply chain disruptions, not pay. They also know that most wage rises are not keeping pace with inflation.

‘I look forward to hearing from you, and to making arrangements to cover a care shift at a time of your convenience,’ the letter ends.

Responses on Twitter from the public to Mr Bailey’s comments include the suggestion: ‘Let’s start by lowering Andrew Bailey’s salary from half a million pounds to £20k and see if he thinks he’s worthy of a pay rise.‘

Meanwhile, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has refused to back the Bank of England's recommendation for workers to avoid big pay rises, despite rising inflation.

Mr Sunak said it was "not the government's role" to get involved in pay negotiations between companies and employees.