It is estimated that the cost of living will rise by 2.6 per cent and the annual wage rise will be only €4.66.

...we are going to have another bleak Christmas- Steven Brockwell, Sliema

Where this number came from I do not know because if one is on a mere €200 a week wage, one would expect to receive a €5.20 wage increase. Then again if our cost of living this year rose by the same figure, why did we only receive a €1.16 increase in our wages?

What mechanism is our government using to calculate these figures?

The Labour Party brought out a more realistic figure of a four per cent increase on everyday goods.

Would it not be better if we combined these two percentages, ending up with a more realistic cost-of-living increase?

However, it seems with the rise in national insurance contributions, no matter what one’s pay rise is, next year everyone will find themselves paying out more than what they are bringing in. It seems we are going to have another bleak Christmas.

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