Wales workers' pay falls 8%, says Trades Union Congress 11 June 2013 Last updated at 07:46 Total pay earned in Wales has fallen by more than 8% since the financial crisis started, according to unions. Although there are broadly the same number of people working now as in 2007, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) says the wage bill is £2.3bn less. The figures taken from the Office for National Statistics show employees' earnings are now roughly where they were in 2003. The TUC says the UK's total pay packet fell by 7.5% over the last five years. It equates that to a real terms annual cut of £52bn in 2012 with the UK's overall pay packet falling to £638bn last year. Unsustainable debt "Over the last five years, workers in Wales have taken a massive hit in their pay packets, while thousands more have had to reduce their hours or take lower paid work," said Wales TUC general secretary Martin Mansfield. Shrinking wages are hitting people's living standards, holding back businesses and damaging our growth prospects. Britain desperately needs a pay rise. While economic growth is the key challenge facing the UK today, the years running up to the crash taught us that growth without wage gains just creates more unsustainable debt. It blamed a fall in the real value of wages because of inflation, reduced hours and changes in employment, such as more part-time working.