Inflation Rates Circular

Circular No. NP/176/10/MC

12^th October 2010

TO: ALL BRANCHES, REGIONAL ORGANISERS, REGIONAL COUNCILS, & COUNCIL OF EXECUTIVES.

Dear Colleagues,

Inflation Rates Circular

The September rates of RPI and CPI were published by the Office for National Statistics on the 12^th October 2010. The September 2010 retail prices index rate is 4.6%. This is down from 4.7% in August. The Government’s preferred measure of inflation, CPI, is at 3.1%, with no change from August. The next publication date is the 16^th November 2010.

The largest downward pressures to the change came from a variety of transport costs:

· air transport where fares fell by 27.8 per cent this year compared with a fall of 23.8 per cent a year ago. The largest downward effects came from long haul and, to a lesser extent, European routes

· fuels and lubricants where prices, overall, fell by 0.8 per cent between August and September this year but rose by 2.3 per cent a year ago, principally reflecting a fall of 1.1 pence per litre in petrol prices this year compared with a rise of 2.4 pence per litre a year ago

· falling second-hand car prices between August and September this year compared with price rises a year ago - there were reports of stock shortages leading to higher prices for second-hand cars during 2009

The largest upward pressures to the change in CPI inflation came from:

· clothing and footwear where prices overall rose by 6.4 per cent this year, a record rise for the August to September period. The largest upward effect came from women’s outerwear where prices rose sharply this year with the 2010 autumn season

· food where the largest upward effects came from meat and fruit. Meat prices rose by 0.3 per cent between August and September this year but fell by 1.2 per cent a year ago. The fall last year was a record for an August to September period. Fruit prices overall fell between August and September this year but by less than a year ago

As you can see the price of daily necessities such as food and clothing continue to rise at an alarming rate.

In pay submissions the RMT will continue to emphasise that your financial commitments have increased at a much greater rate than inflation and your living standards have suffered as a result.

Yours sincerely,

Bob Crow

General Secretary