Cardiff Capital Region uses low pay marketing ploy to attract firms
- Published
The leaflet highlights lower graduate salaries in Cardiff compared to other UK cities
A group of Welsh councils has been accused by a workers' union of boasting about "relatively low rates of pay" in its marketing strategy.
In a pamphlet, the Cardiff Capital Region, external (CCR), which covers 10 councils in the south east, said the region's salary costs are "very competitive".
It then lists Cardiff as having lower graduate salaries than Birmingham, London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow.
A CCR spokesman said attracting more quality jobs should increase wages.
The leaflet is part of the CCR's promotional material for MIPIM held in Cannes, France, external, which describes itself as "the world's leading real estate event".
In the pamphlet, the CCR highlights "£10bn worth of investment opportunities" in the region, from the regeneration of Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil and Pontypridd town centres to a new £30m railway station on the outskirts of Cardiff.
Highlighting the regions strengths, it lists talent, skills, infrastructure, quality of life and competitive property costs.
On salaries, under the competitive heading, it reads: "Our workforce is distinctly younger than the UK average, well-educated and diverse, supported by three highly regarded universities.
"Salary costs across the region are very competitive."
An extract from the Cardiff Capital Region pamphlet
It then includes a selective list of university graduate salaries by city, with Cardiff (£25,959) at the bottom behind Birmingham (£27,000), London (£29,000), Edinburgh (£32,143), and Glasgow (£32,500).
In 2019, a tweet by Trade and Invest Wales, a Welsh government marketing initiative, trying to attract foreign investment by saying wages are lower than in other part of the UK was accused of being "sloppy".
The Welsh government said at the time the tweet, which described Wales' workforce as having "up to 30% lower salary costs than some part of the UK", was not representative of the wider marketing approach.
According to the latest statistics, in 2021 Wales had the lowest average gross weekly earnings, external of all UK countries:
Scotland: £622.40
England: £610.70
Northern Ireland: £575
Wales: £562.80
But Wales had higher wages than two areas of England - the north east (£538.70) and the east midlands (£559.80).
Wales TUC General Secretary Shavanah Taj said: "We should never, ever boast about our relatively low rates of pay, and yet this is not the first time our communities have been marketed to external investors like this.
"What expectations does this set for prospective employers? That they can get away with paying workers a few grand below their colleagues in Glasgow and Birmingham?
"This is a depressing and divisive approach which risks locking in a low wage economy for the many communities the CCR leadership represents, many of which continue to suffer the effects of deindustrialisation.
"They should urgently reconsider this marketing strategy, and expect any employer coming here to offer fair work as a minimum," she added.
Shavanah Taj says it is a "depressing and divisive approach"
How does Cardiff Capital Region defend its approach?
A CCR spokesman said: "This messaging of the graphic is underpinning our aim to increase wages by developing and attracting more quality jobs.
"By highlighting that salaries are currently competitive we aim to leverage further investment to raise wages across the city-region.
"Only those cities with higher average salaries are listed in the infographic.
"Cardiff is equivalent or higher than some other core cities, and coupled with quality of life and cost of living."
"Cardiff city-region is a highly desirable place to live and work," he added.
The councils in the Cardiff Capital Region are Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Newport, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Torfaen and Vale of Glamorgan.