UNION leaders say workers in the region have suffered their longest wage freeze since records began in the 1850s while big company bosses have enjoyed a pay bonanza.

Average pay in Yorkshire fell by more than £550 in real terms last year, according to new analysis published by the TUC yesterday to mark the beginning of Fair Pay Fortnight .

It means the average full-time employee wage in the region has fallen in real terms by £2,380 since 2010 – nearly £50 a week.

The TUC says that while average pay for workers in the region fell by 8.7 per cent in real terms between 2010 and 2014, salaries of FTSE 100 company bosses shot up by 26 per cent over the same period.

Top bosses saw their pay increase, on average, by £700,000 in real terms between 2010 and 2014 and the average pay for a FTSE 100 chief executive last year was £3,3 million – 133 times the average annual wage in Yorkshire.

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The TUC estimates that it took top bosses less than two working days, on average, to earn what most full-time workers in the region earn in a year.

Bill Adams ,TUC regional secretary, said: “Despite growth returning, 2014 was another miserable year for living standards in Yorkshire with real wages falling by over £550 in real terms.

“Even though inflation has fallen sharply in recent months, it is still going to take years for people’s earnings just to recover to their pre-recession levels.

It is different story though for those at the top. Senior City executives have seen a huge boost in their fortunes since the election as their wages have skyrocketed.

“This is why we are organising Fair Pay Fortnight, to raise awareness about pay inequality and to call for a sustainable recovery in which everybody shares.”

Sandy Needham, chief executive of Bradford Chamber of Commerce which represents about 1,100 firms, said recent soundings indicated that local employers were looking at awarding pay rises of between one and three per cent this year.

This was consistent with findings last year which indicated that employers were considering modest pay rises as the economy recovered.

"A year ago we found that firms were looking to increase pay by about one per cent, and more to overcome skills shortages," she said.

" The roll-out of auto-enrolment pensions to all small and medium companies complicates the issue somewhat this year.

"Employers have to budget for those costs, even though individuals can opt out of the new scheme later. It is likely that some businesses will have to split what they give in pay rises and what they put into the new pensions for employees."