WORKERS in the North-East are paid the lowest in the country, according to a new survey.

The survey, for the GMB union, shows the average pay for a full-time worker in the region is £20,098.

The GMB claimed companies realised they could get workers "on the cheap" in regions such as the North-East.

It also said it noticed a general trend towards driving salaries down in some areas.

People with full-time jobs in London receive the highest salary - an average of £33,134 - compared with the national average for England and Wales of £24,741.

Workers in the borough of York were the highest paid within the North-East and North Yorkshire, with an average salary of £22,835.

Next came the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, with a salary of £22,328.

Darlington featured in the bottom ten areas across England, Scotland and Wales, with an average salary of £19,907.

A total of 177 council boroughs were ranked in order of average pay as part of the survey. The highest overall salaries were drawn by full-time workers in the City of London (£50,904).

Those working in the Scottish Borders received the lowest pay (£18,491).

GMB general secretary Kevin Curran - a former regional organiser for the union in the North-East - said the huge pay difference between boroughs at the top and those at the bottom was not reflective of the quality of the workforce in those areas and was in fact much higher than the actual cost of living differences.

He said: "The wages in certain areas continue to be driven down because companies think they can get workers on the cheap the farther they go into the regions.

"This is a disrespectful and unsustainable practice. For a successful economy all workers need to be recognised for their value, no matter where they live."

Steve Rankin, regional director of the CBI in the North-East, said the pay variations were already well established.

He added: "There is no great evidence at all to show that companies move into areas like the North-East because they think they can exploit a low wage structure.

"That is just one of a number of factors people would look at when they invest."

The figures were compiled for the GMB using the Nomis database which is run by Durham University on behalf of the Office for National Statistics.