Council and school workers deserve a pay rise!

As a Councillor I was sent this motion by UNISON which I support and will send to our Council Labour Group, Newham School Governors and West Ham Labour Party Branch and General Committee.  

(Please note that workers in local government and schools, pay and other terms and conditions are determined by a negotiating body; the National Joint Council (NJC) for local government services)

Personally I think that all workers should have their pay decided by joint employer and employee wage councils.

MOTION ON PAY TO COUNCILS 

This London Borough of Newham Council notes that: 

• NJC basic pay has fallen by 21% since 2010 in real terms 

• NJC workers had a three-year pay freeze from 2010-2012 

• Local terms and conditions of many NJC employees have also been cut, impacting on their overall earnings 

• NJC pay is the lowest in the public sector 

• Job evaluated pay structures are being squeezed and distorted by bottom loaded NJC pay settlements needed to reflect the increased National Living Wage and the Foundation Living Wage 

• There are growing equal and fair pay risks resulting from this situation 

This council therefore supports the NJC pay claim for 2018, submitted by UNISON, GMB and Unite on behalf of council and school workers and calls for the immediate end of public sector pay restraint. 

NJC pay cannot be allowed to fall further behind other parts of the public sector. This council also welcomes the joint review of the NJC pay spine to remedy the turbulence caused by bottom-loaded pay settlements. 

This council also notes the drastic ongoing cuts to local government funding and calls on the Government to provide additional funding to fund a decent pay rise for NJC employees and the pay spine review. 

This council therefore resolves to: 

• Call immediately on the LGA to make urgent representations to Government to fund the NJC claim and the pay spine review and notify us of their action in this regard 

• Write to the Prime Minister and Chancellor supporting the NJC pay claim and seeking additional funding to fund a decent pay rise and the pay spine review 

• Meet with local NJC union representatives to convey support for the pay claim and the pay spine review

Another 2010 Christmas Carol

Carol is a single mum with three small children who works in the kitchen of the Executive dining room of a British FT100 listed company in East London. She earns £13,000 per year for an average 40 hour week (the national minimum wage of £5.93 per hour is £12,334). She prepares food and cleans the dishes of people who earn up to 100 times what she is paid. She does not work directly for the company but is employed by a subcontractor on rolling 3 month temporary contracts.

Since her wages are so low she receives working tax credits from the government to supplement her income. She also has housing benefit to help her pay the rent and Council tax benefit at her two bed Council flat. Her children receive free school meals. All of this desperately needed support is paid for by the British taxpayer.

She of course does not receive any company pension or any sick pay. Despite the state benefits Carol and her children live hand-to-mouth and she has to rely on moneylenders to pay for emergencies as well as her children’s birthday and Christmas presents.

It is already pretty well known that the marginal rate of tax for the very low paid is far less than the extremely well paid executives that Carol serves and cleans up after.

But what is less well known that both the company who employs her and the FT100 Company she works at also outsources its revenue and profits abroad and pays the British Government relatively little in taxes.

Therefore the financial supplement to Carol’s meagre wages is being paid for by British taxpayers yet both companies who benefit from paying her poverty wages are avoiding paying taxes to the British government. Double bubble exploitation?

Why should British taxpayers subsidise miserable pay and conditions while at the very same time letting these same Scrooge employers avoid paying their fair share of British taxes. Surely this is not right?

Remember before feeling too outraged and smug that you probably have pension and insurance funds that invest in both these companies and make money out of them. Your future pension could be financed by other people’s personal misery.

Hat tip Fair Pensions. Watch out for their next campaign on a Living Wage for all top FT100 employees and their contractors. 

Check above Picture and the other Christmas Carol

Happy 10th Birthday - National Minimum Wage

Check out this website which is supported by UNISON, the TUC and NGO’s. On the 1st April the National Minimum Wage will be 10 years old.

You can lobby the Low Pay unit and your local MP about this year's increase.

Well done the Labour Party and Government for this is one of your finest achievements.

Putting pounds into the purses and pockets of millions of ordinary low paid working people.

This is really what we should all be about.

Now turn this into a national living wage?