Painful cuts in wages soon: ILO

NEW DELHI: It is bad news on the wages front in the wake of global economic meltdown. An ILO study says the global economic crisis is expected to lead to ���painful cuts��� in the wages of millions of workers worldwide in the coming year.

���For the world���s 1.5 billion wage-earners, difficult times lie ahead,��� says ILO director general Juan Somavia on the ���Global Wage Report 2008-09��� published on Tuesday. The report warns that tensions are likely to intensify over wages.

Somavia says, ���slow or negative economic growth, combined with highly volatile food and energy prices, will erode the real wages of many workers, particularly the low-wage and poorer households. The middle classes will also be seriously affected���.