Even the clergy are affected by the cost-of-living crisis in Britain, which has now forced Church of England chaplains to formally apply for a pay raise for the first time in their nearly 500-year history.
The Unite trade union, which represents more than 2,000 clergy and other laymen of the Church, announced today that it has asked for a 9.5% increase in the salary of clergy as of April 2024.
“The Church of England has billions in the bank and has the ability to pay the clergy the small pay raise they claim,” said union secretary general Sharon Graham, referring to the $13.2 billion investment fund that was included in the Church’s 2022 annual report.
A spokesperson on behalf of the Church of England said it was aware that the clergy were facing a cost-of-living crisis.
Last year the Church saved £3m for the dioceses in order to give benefits to clergy who have problems with rising energy bills.
Hundreds of thousands of British workers have often gone on strike in the past year calling for pay raises.
Unite proposed that the national minimum wage for clergymen be raised to 34,984 euros and the national wage benchmark be raised to 36,756.90 euros, the spokeperson said.
“Last year many clergy had to turn to charity because they couldn’t make ends meet. The proposed increase is necessary to begin wage alignment with inflation while addressing the urgency and insecurity experienced by so many clergy and their families,” said Sam McGinnis, a member of the clergy and the trade union.
The remuneration committee of the Church of England will convene to make several recommendations on the salaries of the clergy and thir recommendations will then be referred to the Archbishops’ Council in September for a final recommendation.
