I dunno. I don't think the idea of a meritocracy and hard work being rewarded has ever been less appropriate than it is today. For the majority there's no link between effort and reward or effort and prospects so whether or not pay is fair is entirely subjective. There's an entire generation...
In 15 years the only time I've had a pay rise that even matches inflation let alone exceeds it is through promotion or changing employer and job despite working for businesses that routinely make decent profit. Any other increase I've had has always been below inflation and most years pretty...