Food prices rise at fastest rate for 45 years
The social emergency of savage attacks on living standards is not ending—and the only effective response is more strikes and protests.
Figures released on Wednesday did show a very slight reduction in the speed of price increases. The RPI measure of inflation, the most accurate one, was down from 13.8 percent in February to 13.5 percent in March.
The government’s preferred CPI measure reduced from 10.4 percent to 10.1 percent, a much smaller fall than analysts predicted.
It’s basic goods that are keeping inflation high. The Office for National Statistics noted an “upward effect from food and non-alcoholic beverages, where prices rose by 19.2 percent in the year to March 2023, up from 18.2 percent in February. The annual rate for this category in March 2023 is the highest seen for over 45 years.”
And the day before other official figures revealed total pay, including bonuses, grew at an annual rate of just 5.9 percent in the three months to February. That means real pay, after price rises are accounted for, is still falling by over 7 percent a year if you base it on the RPI figure.
That’s exactly the same wage-price gap as, for example, September 2022—a time that saw workers demanding action because the squeeze was so tough.
Paul Nowak, the TUC union federation general secretary, said the figures showed workers are suffering the longest wages slump in modern history. “Hard-pressed families can’t take much more. It is no surprise that workers are having to strike to defend their living standards,” he said. The TUC should be boosting and coordinating the fight,
Bankers and bosses want much more savage wage cuts. The Financial Times newspaper quoted a string of financial “experts” demanding bigger assaults. Victoria Clarke, economist at Santander CIB, said the figures did “not deliver the reassurance that the Bank of England’s Monetary Privilege Committee is likely to be looking for”.
Behind all these statistics is the lived reality that everyone feels when they go to the supermarket. Shop bosses are raising prices by much more than official figures suggest. And it’s not an illusion. Figures out on Tuesday showed that prices of staple foods such as cheddar cheese, white bread and pork sausages have soared by up to 80 percent in some shops over the past year.
Porridge oats topped the price increase ranking among a basket of British basics measured by the consumer group Which? with prices up by an average of 35.5 percent. This was followed by skimmed milk which was up by 33.6 percent, and cheddar cheese which rose by 28 percent. And a 180g pack of Dragon cheddar cheese in Asda was priced 80 percent higher than a year before.
The cheaper the goods you are forced to buy, the bigger the price rises. Which?’s tracker shows that while supermarket own-label budget items remain the cheapest overall, prices rose 24.8 percent in March year on year.
Meanwhile, analysis of government data by the Labour Party also found dramatic increases in the wholesale price of everyday fruit and vegetables. Carrots were up 80 percent since 2019, cauliflowers 161 percent and tomatoes 142 percent.
Unite union general secretary Sharon Graham said, “These latest inflation figures change nothing for workers. The public is beginning to cotton on that it’s not wage rises driving prices. it’s rampant corporate profiteering.
“There’ll be no end in sight to the crisis until we tackle that scourge. So while politicians and policymakers snooze at the wheel, Unite’s ongoing fight to win better jobs, pay and conditions continues.”
New Unite research, analysing the top 350 companies, shows profit margins for the first half of 2022 were 89 percent higher compared to the same period in 2019.
Instead of championing deals of 5 or 6 percent—as many are—union leaders have to be pushed to fight. It’s more important than ever to step up the strikes and protests.
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