Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Bank rate-setters get below-inflation pay rise after wage restraint row

Swati Dhingra will join the Monetary Policy Committee of the bank from August

Bank rate-setters get below-inflation pay rise after wage restraint row

THE Bank of England in its annual report has said that it awarded its rate-setters a pay rise of one per cent, far below inflation in the financial year 2021-22, according to a report.

Recently, the central bank came under fire for calling on workers to temper their demands for higher wages, reported The Times.


The one per cent pay rise was given to the nine-strong Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). According to the report, the rate-setting MPC will get a boost to its diversity ranks from August when British Indian trade economist and academic Swati Dhingra joins the committee.

She will replace Michael Saunders as an external member of the MPC and will be the third woman on the committee. The Times report added that the Bank’s four external rate- setters were given salaries worth £158,100 last year.

Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s governor, refused his pay rise on a total salary worth £597,592 for the third consecutive year. Bailey earned a basic salary of £495,000 and pension earnings worth £99,000.

Earlier this year, he angered trade unions when he called for wage restraint from employees to keep a lid on inflationary pressures that have multiplied in recent months.

UK inflation is on course to peak above 11 per cent this year, forcing the Bank to increase interest rates.

The Bank’s annual report also revealed that its wage bill dropped in the last financial year to £106 million from £107 million.

The Bank reported a narrowing in its gender pay gap to 18.5 per cent from 19.2 per cent in the year to March 2022.

Its ethnicity pay gap grew to 10.9 per cent from 10.8 per cent as a result of the hiring of minorities that were “concentrated predominantly at mid to lower levels of the organisation.

According to the report, it drove the median hourly pay down relative to that of white colleagues, and as a result, widened the pay gap.

The bank said that the gender and ethnicity pay gaps are driven by an imbalance of male to female and white to minority ethnic staff across scales.

"As part of our strategic priority on diversity and inclusion, we are continuing to increase the number of women and minority ethnic colleagues in senior roles which will help to improve the pay gaps," it said. 

More For You

starmer-zelensky

Keir Starmer welcomed Volodymyr Zelensky to Downing Street last week.

UK played a key role as Ukraine ready to accept ceasefire proposal: Report

THE UK played a key role in facilitating discussions between Ukraine and the US over a proposed ceasefire with Russia, according to a report.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed readiness for a 30-day ceasefire but stated that it is up to the US to persuade Russia to agree. Talks on the proposal took place in Saudi Arabia.

Keep ReadingShow less
pakistan train siege reuters

A passenger, who was rescued from a train after separatist militants attacked it, receives medical aid at the Mach Railway Station in Mach, Balochistan, Pakistan, March 11, 2025. (Photo: Reuters)

Pakistan train siege: 155 hostages freed, 27 militants killed

PAKISTAN security forces launched a "full-scale" operation on Wednesday to rescue train passengers taken hostage by militants in the southwest, security sources said. Over the past 24 hours, 155 hostages have been freed.

The train, carrying more than 450 passengers, was seized at the entrance of a tunnel in a remote frontier district. An unknown number of hostages remain captive.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kyle-Clifford-Reuters

Clifford had pleaded guilty to three counts of murder, one of false imprisonment, and two charges of possessing offensive weapons. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)

Crossbow killer sentenced to life for triple murder and rape

A FORMER soldier who murdered three women and raped one of them in an attack involving a crossbow and a knife has been sentenced to life in prison.

Kyle Clifford, 26, received a whole-life term for each of the murders of Carol Hunt, 61, wife of BBC sports commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.

Keep ReadingShow less
 electricity-pylons-iStock

From 2026, households within 500 metres of new or upgraded electricity infrastructure will receive bill reductions of up to £2,500 over 10 years. (Representational image: iStock)

Residents near new electricity pylons to get bill reductions

THE GOVERNMENT announced on Monday that households living near new electricity pylons will receive discounts on their energy bills.

The move is part of efforts to expand electricity infrastructure, despite opposition to large-scale projects needed to connect renewable energy to the grid.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump

Speaking from the Oval Office on Friday, Trump had said the US has been economically and financially 'ripped off' by several countries, including India. (Photo: Getty Images)

India denies pledge to lower tariffs following Trump’s statement

INDIA has said it has not committed to reducing import duties on US goods, following US president Donald Trump’s claim that New Delhi had agreed to "cut their tariffs way down."

Trump, in the early weeks of his second term, has taken a tough stance on global trade, imposing tariffs on several countries, including India, and accusing trading partners of unfair practices.

Keep ReadingShow less