The International Labour Organization (ILO) claims that just 10 per cent of workers in the world scoop up almost half of all global pay while just 6.4 per cent of the global pay is accounted for the lowest paid 50 per cent workers.

Further, less than 1 per cent of the total global pay is paid to the lowest 20 per cent of global workers amounting to about 650 million, shows a ILO survey which also adds that this scenario has virtually remained unchanged over the last 13 years. The report was prepared by the ILO based on data between 2004 and 2017 – which are the latest data on global pay available.

The report found that $7,445 a month is received by a worker in the top 10 per cent while just $22 a month goes to those in the bottom 10 per cent.

“The majority of the global workforce endures strikingly low pay and for many having a job does not mean having enough to live on. The average pay of the bottom half of the world’s workers is just $198 per month and the poorest 10% would need to work more than three centuries to earn the same as the richest 10% do in one year,” said Roger Gomis, economist in the ILO statistics department.

The report noted that there was actually a drop in the share of global pay that is accorded to the top 10 per cent to 48.9 per cent in 2017 from 55.5 per cent in 2004. However, there is increasing pay inequality within countries.

The ILO report also noted a drop in the inequality in pay between countries such as in the case of China and India which have come closer to higher-income countries because of rising prosperity in those two countries. Despite this, the increased prosperity has not percolated down to the lowest and the poorest in both the countries.

The report found that compared to richer nations, the pay inequality is much higher in poorer countries. For example, just 3.3 per cent of total pay goes to the bottom 50 per cent of workers in sub-Saharan Africa where as in comparison, 22.9 per cent of the total pay is given to the bottom 50 per cent in the European Union.

Over the 13-year period, while there were large gains for the top earning group in a number of the high-income countries, including the UK, US and Germany, the earnings for the middle and lower-middle class suffered substantial losses, the ILO report found.

“The data show that in relative terms, increases in the top labour incomes are associated with losses for everyone else, with both middle-class and lower-income workers seeing their share of income decline,” said Steven Kapsos, head of data production and analysis at the ILO. “However, when the labour income shares of the middle- or lower-income workers increase, the gains tend to be widespread, favouring everyone except the top earners.”

(Adapted from TheGuardian.com)

Categories: Creativity, Economy & Finance, Strategy, Sustainability, Uncategorized