Employees
in Northern Ireland are among the worst off in Britain, with the province
containing seven out of 10 of the lowest paid areas in the UK.
The
lowest paid area in the UK is County Down, where average earnings for full-time
workers are £8,443 per annum below the average for the UK as a whole.
There
is a £34,624 gap between the highest area in UK – the City of London where
annual average earnings are £50,905 – and County Down where the figure is
£16,281 per year.
The
research, by the GMB trade union, shows the continuing downturn in
manufacturing is hitting traditionally industrial areas hard, with the North
East of England and Northern Ireland at the bottom of the regional pay league.
Kevin
Curran, general secretary of the GMB, said "The decline in manufacturing
industry and the loss of craft and technical jobs has hit areas like the North
East of England and Northern Ireland very badly. Pay in the rural hinterlands
in these regions has always been low.
"Northern
Ireland needs a strong plan for economic regeneration to bring the new
opportunities and new jobs for the 21st century."
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