Workers have been feeling the pinch for
some time, even before the slump of 2008-09. Now they are in for an even worse
time, the most prolonged squeeze on living standards in recent memory.

Everywhere you look there is upheaval and crisis, from Europe to Japan
and to the United States. This reflects the worldwide malaise of
capitalism that is struggling to emerge from the recent slump. This is a
confirmation of Marxist ideas, which explains that capitalism is a
crisis-ridden system.

Earlier this year, it was announced by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) that inflation had risen from November to December, with the Consumer Prices Index going up from 3.3% to 3.7% and the Retail Prices Index (PRI) – which includes housing costs such as mortgage interest payments and council tax – rising from 4.7% to 4.8%. Inflation was persistently high throughout 2010, with an average RPI of 4.6% – the highest since 1991.