I had to negotiate hard for an increase last year, explaining I didn't want inflation to eat up my salary and I basically got back a “Aren't you earning enough? Wages are not meant to rise at the same rate as inflation.” reply.
I still got what I wanted in the end, but why do I have to explain myself why I don't want to earn less as time goes by?
Are they basically admitting that people shouldn't keep doing what they're doing, resign and go for better paying jobs so they can get ahead of inflation?
Or are they expecting that we accept it's perfectly normal for somebody to become objectively poorer for doing the same work as time goes on?
When I was in management I made sure cost of living adjustment based on CPI would be the minimum increase people got every year because it's not like people are doing any less work. Not paying more when the company gets to raise its prices seems like theft to me.
It's frustrating that this has to be an issue at all.