Category Archives: Wages

Here’s another reason for young people to get off Instagram, Tiktok, YouTube Shorts or whatever, get off the sofa and go and vote.

One of the popular choices of job for young people is working for a supermarket chain. I did it for a while in my teens to raise cash for college, and my stepdaughter (technically just Mrs Mike’s daughter but she’ll kill me if I don’t call her that) did checkout work before going on to better things, too.

Would we have done those jobs if they hadn’t paid enough for us to enjoy our young lives and be able to store cash away for the future?

No, of course we wouldn’t.

Now we learn that, while they have been personally raking in nearly £1 million per day from their supermarkets’ profits, the owners of Asda are cutting pay for 7,000 workers and will sack anybody who won’t accept the new arrangement.

Yesterday Asda announced pay cut for 7,000 workers; will sack those who do not agree.

Today, we learn that its owners Issa brother are worth £5bn, £302m more in a year or £827,400 a day.

Wealth created by low-paid workers, appropriated by the rich.
👇👇https://t.co/Ak1cCiLgW1 https://t.co/l61zK4nWHp

— Prem Sikka (@premnsikka) May 19, 2023

According to the GMB union, staff will lose 60p per hour, have their night supplement reduced and be dismissed if they refuse to accept the change.

You should be able to find evidence of the Asda owners’ riches here:

The UK has 171 billionaires, down six from 2022.

Their wealth is £683.856bn, £30.734bn more than last yr.

This elite subverts democratic choices by funding parties, dodging taxes, and threats of we will leave unless you give us more.

Need wealth taxes.https://t.co/6ya1TYyc9M

— Prem Sikka (@premnsikka) May 19, 2023

It’s pure greed, as far as This Writer is concerned – and a spiteful stab at the hearts of young people across the UK.

Possibly worst of all, the Issa’s are self-made; they grew up in a terraced house in Blackburn.

It seems that, now they have been able to work their way up to the higher levels of business, they’re pulling up the ladder behind them to make sure that nobody working for them can get to do what they have.

They get to do this because employment law in the UK allows them to.

The only way to change that is to change employment law.

And the only way to do that is to vote in a government that will do that.

Pensioners won’t demand it. They don’t care about kids who are just starting out.

Middle-aged professionals won’t demand it; they’re too busy trying to defend themselves from all the flak coming their way from the current government.

So that leaves young people.

What do you think, you teens and 20-somethings? Is that worth tearing yourself away from your social media influencers for a while?

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Why is Helen Whately happy to be on Question Time but cagey if the questions are about her expenses?

Helen Whately: voters in her Faversham constituency are disgusted that she is claiming more in rent expenses than most of them earn, despite being extremely rich. And she’s not even a very good government minister…

Tory MP Helen Whately was a panellist on the BBC’s Question Time yesterday (Thursday, May 11) – to the surprise of Faversham constituents who can’t get her to answer questions about her enormous Parliamentary expenses bill.

The Minister for Social Care earns £113,612 a year, is married to a director and founder of an energy company (think about the amounts they’re raking in) and they have recently bought a £1.35 million farmhouse in a village on Faversham’s outskirts.

But she claims £3,250 per month rent expenses, presumably for a property in London. That adds up to £39,000 a year.

Shockingly, this is perfectly permittable by Parliamentary rules. In fact, as a mother-of-three, she could claim up to £39,315, so she is just within the rules.

But it doesn’t look good for an individual who has a large amount of personal wealth to be taking, from the public purse, more money than most of us can dream of earning – because of Tory wage suppression.

Whately won’t answer questions about it, and this has triggered a predictable – and entirely justifiable – response from her constituents:

A Kent MP has been accused of ‘outrageous contempt’ for constituents after refusing to answer questions about her £3,250-a-month rent expenses.

It seems Whately did not stop to consider, when making her expenses claim, that voters might not be impressed if an MP of large personal wealth then claims even more, from them – after making them struggle to make ends meet.

I don’t think Helen Whately will be in Parliament after the next election – do you? I think voters will tell her to go and fend for herself.

Source: Faversham MP Helen Whately refuses to answer questions over rent expenses

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If RCN nurses are getting a pay deal they don’t support, what will it mean for their strike?

Steve Barclay: ask him to use any of the equipment behind him and he couldn’t. He’s only useful for punishing the people who can.

Is Steve Barclay trying to outflank the Royal College of Nursing?

It seems that, after talks with 14 health unions, he is going to impose a pay deal on more than a million NHS workers including ambulance workers, nurses, physios and porters,

The deal is a five per cent pay rise plus a one-off payment of at least £1,655 which This Writer understands is to raise overall pay for the last (2022-23) financial year.

From the way it’s being presented, the deal is also being imposed on the three unions that haven’t accepted it – including Unite (which has a limited mandate for strike action) and the RCN (which needs to ballot for more).

This leads to an obvious question:

What if the RCN (or the others) strike again and win a better deal?

Won’t that upset members of the other unions?

And isn’t that what Steve Barclay wants?

Tory philosophy can be summed up with the words “divide and rule”.

I reckon he’s hoping that the RCN – and the others – will be discouraged from going further by the possibility of losing solidarity with the other unions – or if they go ahead, strike, and get a better deal, the other unions will turn their collective back on them.

And that will probably mess up any collective action in the future, meaning the Tories can bully these unions to their hearts’ content.

It’s vile, verminous behaviour from a government that owes any credibility it kept during the Covid-19 crisis to the dedication of these professionals.

Each one of the staff who are now to receive a derogatory pay cut (in the face of higher-than 10 per cent inflation) is worth far, far more to the nation than Steve Barclay.

But, of course, in backwards Britain, the rewards are reversed:

NHS starting salaries:

• Paramedic- £19,000
• Nurse- £24,907
• Junior Doctor- £28,808

Tory MP salary:

• Tory MP- £84,144
• Cabinet Minister- £151,649

Tories voted for all of this.

They are intentionally destroying the NHS.

Back the NHS workers please.

— Howard Beckett (@BeckettUnite) May 1, 2023

There is a simple way out of the dilemma Barclay has set.

It is to remember that Steve Barclay is creating any problems – not the unions, their members or their leaders.

And one more thing, for people in England and Northern Ireland:

A vote against the Conservatives (and/or their allies) during the local elections on Thursday is a vote in support of the health unions.

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A ‘fair and reasonable’ pay offer for nurses? You’ll get psittacosis listening to these Tory parrots!

Mark Harper: like a parrot, he’s repeated endlessly that the Tory pay cut for nurses is “fair and reasonable”. You’ll need a nurse to treat you for psittacosis after listening too much to him!

Tory ministers have been doing the media rounds, telling us how “fair and reasonable” their latest real-terms pay cut for nurses is.

Watch the clip of Mark Harper, sitting on his massive ministerial salary (that has risen at a rate within one per cent of the rate of inflation) and trying to convince Sky’s Sophie Ridge that a pay rise that’s half inflation is “decent”:

#Ridge – The average pay for nurses has fallen by 8% in real terms since 2010 & nurses pay declined at twice the rate of private sector pay…

Mark Harper(Transport Secretary) – They were offered a decent pay rise

SR – 5%, half the rate of inflation#bbclaurak pic.twitter.com/xRlmh8aCMl

— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) April 30, 2023

Now listen to the ever-brilliant Peter Stefanovic, telling us the facts that people like Harper don’t want us to know.

Jeez. Watch in disbelief and if you stand shoulder to shoulder with our loyal nurses RT it widely pic.twitter.com/guMWRIEdVh

— Peter Stefanovic (@PeterStefanovi2) April 30, 2023

But still the Tories adhere to their “Big Lie” philosophy – tell a lie often enough and enough people will believe it.

Psittacosis, also known as parrot fever, is an infectious disease that people can contract from the tropical avians, with flu-like symptoms accompanied by a kind of pneumonia.

The most anybody can expect to get from listening to these Tory parrots is a hefty dose of that!

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Never mind the Budget: you’ll be paying a lot more in April with less cash

Brace yourself for another attack on your wallet.

Even if you receive benefits that are going to be uprated in line with the lowest possible level of inflation the government thinks it can get away with, it probably won’t cover the increases in your costs.

Rises to the different level of the minimum wage certainly won’t. It’s not a living wage, despite being called that by Tories.

Let’s have a look at what’s coming:

Council tax to rise

The majority of households in England will be hit by a whopping 5% in April in fresh cost of living misery for families. Three struggling councils have been given special permission by the Government to impose higher rises – up to 10% for Thurrock and Slough, and an eye-watering 15% for Croydon.

Band D properties will pay around an extra £100 if they don’t receive any discounts.

Water bills to increase

From April, average water bills will again increase by less than inflation, meaning prices will continue their decade-long fall in real terms. Bills will rise by an average of £31 to £448 a year (equivalent to around 60p more each week)

Support for low-income households is also being increased to its highest level ever. More than 1 million households already receive help with water bills, which is being increased to 1.2 million over coming months.

Wages will increase

The National Living Wage and National Minimum wage will rise for all kinds of workers across the country. Depending on your age and work status, you will receive one of the following increases:

National Living Wage – Increased to £10.42 (annual increase of 9.7 per cent)

21-22-year-old rate – Increased to £10.18 (annual increase of 10.9 per cent)

18-20-year-old rate – Increased to £7.49 (annual increase of 9.7 per cent)

16-17-year-old rate – Increased to £5.28 (annual increase of 9.7 per cent)

Apprentice Rate – Increased to £5.28 (annual increase of 9.7 per cent)

Accommodation Offset – Increased to £9.10 (annual increase of 4.6 per cent)

Broadband and mobile bills will increase

From April, broadband and mobile phone customers can expect to face monthly bill increases of at least 14% from April.

Providers link their annual price rises to January’s consumer price index (CPI) or the retail price index (RPI) which was 10.5% and 13.4%. BT, EE, Plusnet and Vodafone broadband contracts allow prices to go up by CPI plus 3.9%. At TalkTalk, it is CPI plus 3.7%, while Shell Energy can add CPI plus 3%. Sky and Virgin Media contracts allow mid-contract price increases but they do not stipulate a pricing formula in the same way as rivals.

Universal Credit, PIP and pension to increase

Inflation-linked benefits and tax credits will rise by 10.1% from April 2023, in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate of inflation in September 2022. Jeremy Hunt said the ‘expensive commitment’ worth £11 billion means 10 million working-age families will see a much-needed increase next year and, on average, a family on universal credit will benefit next year by around £600.

The benefit cap will rise from £23,000 to £25,323 for families in Greater London and from £20,000 to £22,020 for families nationally. Lower caps for single households without children will rise from £15,410 to £16,967 in Greater London and from £13,400 to £14,753 nationally.

Benefits which will rise by 10.1% include Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Pension Credit, Disability Allowance and Personal Independence Payment.

Source: Cost of Living: 5 big changes coming into effect in April that everyone should know about

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Five demands for a better Britain from the Peace and Justice Project

Jeremy Corbyn: his Project for Peace and Justice has just announced its five demands for government (of any stripe) to deal with the cost of living crisis and bring real prosperity to everyone.

After Jeremy Hunt announced his “E’s and Wizz” Budget and Keir Starmer brought out his “five missions”, here’s a message from the Project for Peace and Justice, brought to you by Jeremy Corbyn:

Last week, the Chancellor announced a budget that did nothing to alleviate the obscene levels of poverty and inequality in our society – instead protecting the riches of global corporations and the wealthiest in our society.

He should have used the opportunity to present policies to deal with the cost of living crisis with a budget that could have made a difference to the lives of all those that have suffered under 13 years of austerity, the Covid-19 pandemic and a decline in real wages.

That’s why we need an alternative budget that puts people first, based on the following five demands:

A REAL PAY RISE FOR ALL

Everyone has a right to live and work with dignity. That means giving nurses, teachers and public sector workers an above-inflation pay rise, implementing a minimum wage of £15 per hour, banning zero-hours contracts and reversing cruel benefit sanctions.

DEMOCRATIC PUBLIC OWNERSHIP

As millions struggle to pay their energy bills, fossil fuel giants are taking home record profits. Private profiteering is ripping people off and destroying our planet. Alongside water, rail and mail, it’s time we put energy back where it belongs: in public hands.

Democratic public ownership will empower communities, bring prices down and kickstart a Green New Deal that invests in clean energy.

HOUSING FOR THE MANY

Housing is a human right, not a commodity – everyone deserves a decent, safe, warm and affordable place to live.

We need an immediate rent freeze and reduction, an end to no-fault evictions and an urgent mass council home building programme.

TAX THE RICH TO SAVE THE NHS

After years of austerity and privatisation, our NHS is on its knees. It’s time to end outsourcing, invest in a fully public system of universal healthcare and build a National Care Service.

The government says there’s no more money for our NHS – but they’re wrong. We can give our public services the money they need by introducing a wealth tax, raising income tax on the top five per cent of earners and making corporations pay their fair share.

WELCOME REFUGEES AND A WORLD FREE FROM WAR

Refugees are being scapegoated for an economic crisis they didn’t create. We must work towards a world of peace, free from nuclear weapons where conflicts are resolved through diplomacy and negotiation. We need a humane migration system based on dignity, compassion and care, which gives asylum seekers the right to work, healthcare and housing.

The refugees of today are our doctors, teachers and neighbours of tomorrow.

As we face the starkest cost-of-living crisis in a generation, we cannot afford to be timid. We need to offer a clearer alternative to the Tories’ failed economic experiment. As striking workers in Trafalgar Square demonstrated, there is an appetite for something different.

The manifesto [Labour] put forward in 2017 and 2019 gave hope to millions around the country – and now we must continue to build [a] radical alternative vision for our country. You can find out more about these demands in my article in the Morning Star.

We must unite, organise and build our vision for a fairer world. I hope you will join me in demanding and campaigning for these policies, and sign up to support them here.

Fair enough?

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Junior doctors are to go on a new four-day strike. Here are their reasons

Junior doctors: this is not the first time they’ve had to strike for better pay. The Tories in government tend to consider that people in the medical profession are hostages to fortune because any strike action can always be slanted as harming patients. Meanwhile the quality of healthcare plummets anyway, as staff quit to get away from the pressure.

In the face of continued government intransigence over pay and conditions, junior doctors have had no choice but to announce another four-day strike, running between April 11-14.

Here’s Taj Ali with the press release from the British Medical Association:

“It is with disappointment and great frustration that we must announce this new industrial action. The Government has dragged its feet at every opportunity. It has not presented any credible offer and is refusing to accept that there is any case for pay restoration…

— Taj Ali (@Taj_Ali1) March 23, 2023

“This situation is entirely of the Government’s own making. We want to spend our time looking after patients, not on strike. But with an NHS buckling under a workforce crisis, and 4 in 10 junior doctors looking to leave, we can’t stand by while our pay is further eroded…

— Taj Ali (@Taj_Ali1) March 23, 2023

A 96-hour walkout will take place for shifts starting between 06:59 on Tuesday 11 April and 06:59 on Saturday 15 April 2023.

My report on the dispute here:https://t.co/Exy4HjTtoq

— Taj Ali (@Taj_Ali1) March 23, 2023

A list of preconditions that the Government set out in negotiations with junior doctors:https://t.co/O4jQyEocBS

— Taj Ali (@Taj_Ali1) March 23, 2023

…The ask of 35% pay restoration is our starting position, and we are willing to meet with the Health Secretary anywhere, anytime, to negotiate what this might look like.”

— Taj Ali (@Taj_Ali1) March 23, 2023

The government is – of course – lying about junior doctors’ reasons for going on strike. The most common claim is that they already have a pay rise of 8.4 per cent agreed – but this was to be phased in over four years, meaning it’s actually only a two per cent rise per year. With inflation at more than 10 per cent, it is in fact an enormous pay cut.

Junior doctors have faced pay cuts totalling 35 per cent over the last 15 years – and let’s bear in mind that the Tory ministers who are imposing those cuts have not had any appreciable cut in their own salaries, while their expenses claims seem to cover anything they fancy.

All they want is a return to parity with what they were earning in 2008, which should not be an impossible task if MPs have it. Here’s Peter Stefanovic to explain:

As junior doctors announce a 96 hour full walkout starting at 6:59am on Tuesday 11th April UK news shows don’t appear to be pointing out the Health Secretary wants them limited to a derisory pay award of just 2% with inflation ahead of 10%
pic.twitter.com/30UxJJt0eY

— Peter Stefanovic (@PeterStefanovi2) March 23, 2023

And let’s remember that, behind all this, prime minister Rishi Sunak is planning to strip junior doctors of their right to strike, in the name of basic standards that he cannot even be bothered to provide now:

and whilst we all look the other way Sunak plans to rob millions of workers of their democratic right to strike, force them to work against their will & allow them to be sacked if they refuse

Let’s keep this in the news pic.twitter.com/v5QreUjRls

— Peter Stefanovic (@PeterStefanovi2) March 22, 2023

The entire attitude of the Tory government is nothing but a tissue of lies and intimidation. This Writer says: support the doctors.

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You’re £11,000 worse-off than in 2008 due to wage stagnation – but the billionaires aren’t!

Cash money: if you haven’t seen even this much in a while, it’s because – thanks to Tory policies – billionaires have vacuumed it all up.

Here’s a painful piece of information I found on the social media:

New figures show that flatlining wages over the past 15 years have left every UK worker £11,000 worse off per year.

In that time, UK billionaires' wealth hasn't flatlined – it's up THREE-FOLD

That's no coincidence – it's how our rigged system works.

It's time for a Wealth Tax.

— Richard Burgon MP (@RichardBurgon) March 20, 2023

I did a bit of digging (not very much!) and it turns out that Mr Burgon isn’t wrong:

Workers are £11,000 worse off per year due to 15 years of wage stagnation, according to the Resolution Foundation.

In new figures shared with BBC Panorama, the think tank calculated that, had wages continued to grow at the pace seen before the 2008 financial crash, the average worker would make £11,000 more per year than they do now, taking rising prices into account.

Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, told the BBC the wage stagnation of the past 15 years is “almost completely unprecedented”.

Unprecedented it may be, but you can bet it was entirely planned by the Tories who slithered into government in 2010.

“This is definitely not what normal looks like. This is what failure looks like.”

Not as far as those Tories were concerned. For them, it was success. They funnelled the cash away from the majority of UK citizens, away from the Treasury, and into the hands and offshore bank accounts of the tiniest minority of the super-rich.

As for the billionaires… here‘s Statista:

The UK’s top ten richest people are wealthier than the group has ever been, according to The Sunday Times, who recently released their annual Rich List. Their data finds that the cumulative wealth of the top ten billionaires in the UK has grown from £47.77 billion in 2009 to £182 billion in 2022 – an increase of 281 percent.

As this chart shows, following the 2008 crash, the UK’s billionaires have seen a steady, and fairly steep, incline in their wealth. The upward trend continued despite the pandemic, which saw the UK’s economy shrink by 20.4 percent in the second quarter of 2020, as most industries suffered, and 30.5 million people in Europe were expected to be pushed into poverty. This is a stark contrast to the UK’s 250 ultra wealthy, who saw their collective wealth surge to a record high of £653 billion in 2022.

And Jeremy Hunt’s Budget predicted slower growth than we expected after the disastrous Liz Truss was ousted from Downing Street last year.

And the Tories are starting to bounce back in the opinion polls.

Who are the people going back to them? Are they masochists?

Source: Workers £11,000 worse off a year due to stagnant wages – Resolution Foundation

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