Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, speaks at a press conference on the Monetary Policy Report at the Bank of England on Feb. 3, 2022 in London, England.
The governor of the Bank of England has sparked serious backlash after telling Britons they should not ask for a pay raise this year, even as the country grapples with its greatest cost of living crisis in decades.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and workers unions have been among those to decry Andrew Bailey, who last week said that employees should not pressure their bosses into boosting wages as the economy needs time to recalibrate amid soaring inflation.
Speaking to the BBC hours after the central bank imposed back-to-back interest rate hikes, the governor said businesses should assert "restraint" in pay negotiations to help battle 30-year high inflation.
When asked by the BBC whether the Bank was asking workers not to demand big pay rises, Bailey said: "Broadly, yes."
He said that while it would be "painful" for workers, some "moderation of wage rises" is needed to prevent inflation from becoming entrenched.