SOUTH SOMERSET NEWS: Workers earning less than in other parts of the region

MEMBERS of the Yeovil Labour Party have been disappointed as recent figures have shown that earnings for people in South Somerset fall short of fellow workers in the South West region.

The figures – based on information released by the Office for National Statistics for November – showed that workers in South Somerset earn £21.90 per week less than the average for the region.

And Yeovil Labour Party believes that South Somerset is falling behind the rest of the region on pay.

The group’s vice-chairman, Murray Shepstone, said: “It is very disappointing to see earnings in South Somerset do not match their counterparts of the rest of the South West.

“The Conservative-Lib Dem coalition has presided over a period where wages have fallen behind prices year after year. They have failed to deliver a decent standard of living for Local people.”

Mr Shepstone added: “South Somerset District Council needs to rethink its economic strategy in order to bring in industries that offer higher pay for the people of South Somerset. One thing that leaps out from the new ONS figures are that South Somerset has far fewer professionals and more workers in elementary occupations, than the regional average.

“We want more and better jobs, but we must not forget that the pay squeeze has hit low earners the hardest. The local council needs to adopt a strategy to encourage more employers to pay at least the Living Wage of £7.85 per hour, as so many other local authorities have done, and local businesses leaders need to find strategies to ensure that all employees are decently paid.”

Statistics show that the national average weekly pay for full-time workers is £520.80, whereas in the South West it is £495.60 and in South Somerset it is £473.70.

Men full-time workers in South Somerset receive £514 a week as opposed their counterparts in the South West getting £536.60 and nationally £561.50.

Female full-time workers in South Somerset receive £409.50 a week, while their fellow workers in the South West receive £429.90 and nationally £463.00.

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