Hustings results

The election’s passed already, but there do seem to be real differences of opinion among the Labour deputy leadership candidates on how to fight poverty. This is what they all said to the Mirror :

What should the minimum wage be?

ALAN JOHNSON   Whatever the independent low pay commission recommends.

HILARY BENN   The level it is. We have to make sure people get a fair wage for a day’s work, but raising the minimum wage too fast could cost jobs.

HARRIET HARMAN   Higher. To help close the gap between rich and poor.

JON CRUDDAS   High enough to end poverty pay, and we should support living wage campaigns to get fair pay at some of the multinational companies.

HAZEL BLEARS   It should increase as the economy allows, but never risk putting firms out of business.

PETER HAIN   Higher than it is now, but continuing to safeguard our economic stability.

Jon Cruddas’s campaign team also pointed out to me that he was one of 107 MPs who had signed this EDM, strongly supporting the campaign of cleaners in the City to support a living wage, and welcoming the extension of the living wage campaign to other major cities.

Harriet Harman’s responses to a questionnaire sent to the six candidates by the UK Coalition on Poverty are published here. She tells them that working to reduce poverty and social exclusions is her number one priority, and that her key policy for achieving this is to provide more affordable housing.

 

Peanuts4Benefits

The Northern Ireland Anti Poverty Network, who are supporting my petition, have asked that I also publicise their petition, which calls for benefits to be raised in line with wages to help eliminate poverty in low income, workless households and those households in receipt of incapacity and sickness benefits. The UK has one of the lowest ratios of benefits to average earnings in Europe.

I’m more than happy to do this : sign here.

 

Crumbs from the table ?

Less than a month after being awarded the Golden Vacuum for sucking its cleaners dry, Barclays Bank has agreed to bring the pay of around 1,000 cleaners and other ancillary staff working in its London offices and employed by outside contractors to a living wage of £7.50 from July 1st. For some workers this will represent a pay rise of over 20%.

Big financial institutions like Barclays are raking in astronomical profits. Most of the benefit goes to shareholders and top executives. This is an extra outgoing that they can easily afford. But what has been won is more than just a few crumbs from the rich man’s table. Barclays have conceded an important principle. In their own words : “Although these employees are not directly employed by Barclays we have a responsibility to ensure that they receive a fair, well-rounded remuneration package, and this deal delivers that.” The fact that the work has been contracted out does not mean that the employer can escape their responsibilities to the workers involved. Anyone whose pay and conditions have suffered as a result of privatisation or contracting out will recognise the importance of this.

 

Will a living wage cost jobs ?

If you’re campaigning for a living wage, sooner or later you’ll be confronted with claims about the likely impact on businesses or employment rates. Such arguments can seem daunting if, like most of us, you’re not an economist. What I have found most useful in understanding the issues is reading through some of the submissions to the Low Pay Commission, and the LPC’s report itself.

——  Impact on (un)employment  —— 

Yes, economists have produced models which link higher wages with rises in unemployment. Such models are not very helpful, often focusing as they do on specific aspects of the labour market in isolation from the wider economy and society.

The predictions that the NMW would lead to an increase in unemployment has proven false. Since its introduction in 1999, the NMW has risen by well over the rate of inflation, while the number of people in work has risen by 1.5 million. Even in the sectors that employ most low paid staff, while there are some variations between sectors, the overall picture is that employment levels are stable or increasing.

But surely, the argument goes, there has to be a tipping point : if you increase the NMW by too much so that it squuezes businesses too far, then it will inevitably have an adverse effect on jobs. However there is no consensus on how far is “too far”. Again and again economists have accused the government of going too far, but the scares have all proved groundless. What is the reason for this ? I suspect part of the reason may be that economists have consistently underestimated the beneficial aspects of higher wages to businesses and the economy.

——  Impact on businesses and the economy  —— 

Low pay is well known to lead to higher turnover of staff, leading to additional recruitment and training costs for businesses. It may also affect the level of service that a business can provide, as staff who are struggling to sustain themselves are more likely to have low motivation and commitment to the job, which could lead to poor service and absenteeism.

While it is undeniable that the NMW has had some impact on businesses, particularly smaller firms with tight profit margins, overall levels of profitability in the economy as a whole and the low paying service sector in particular remain very high. Many of these businesses have welcomed the NMW as a positive reform. Problems such as reduced pay differentials have been addressed through various means such as multiskilling and payscale restructuring. A recent survey of 150 organisations found that almost half (48%) agreed with the current NMW rate, while nearly four out of 10 (39%) said it should be higher still.

This mirrors the experience of successful living wage campaigns in the USA, which have brought many benefits to the businesses involved.

——  Impact on living standards  —— 

Let’s be honest : none of us become living wage campaigners because we want to help out business. I support a living wage because it’s morally right. And if it results in redistributing some of the profits being generated into the pockets of lower income families, so much the better. The only real question that matters – or should matter – is whether paying a particular group of workers a living wage will improve their living standards. And the answer that comes again and again from the workers themselves is a resounding yes.

 

On starting up a campaign

So, how to get started ?

It’s not a bad idea to do some research, and get some ideas and inspiration from other living wage campaigns. A great resource is the Acorn website, which draws on the experience on dozens of living wage campaigns in the US.

Living wage campaigns are broad based, are likely to involve diverse groups, and to work closely with trade unions. They need to be skilled at grassroots campaigning, building protests and drumming up support; they need to be well prepared – knowledgeable about the facts and conditions on the ground, and armed with research to justify their arguments; and they need to be good lobbyists and advocates, capable of influencing employers and people in power. They need to be able to work patiently and consistently over a long period of time (it could be several years before all the goals are met).

Oxford University is an example of a living wage campaign still in its early stages. Organising meetings take place every week. Gradually the campaign gathers support among students and extends its network, though meetings with guest speakers such as Unison officers or living wage campaigners from the US; and by putting motions up for discussion in the JCRs of one Oxford college after another. There is a clear awareness and a focus on what needs to be done. Sympathetic academics are approached and asked to sign up to the campaign. Staff such as room cleaners are approached, plied for information, and asked for their views on the campaign. Every college is asked to provide information about the working conditions of low paid workers, under the Freedom of Information Act.

Now that a picture is beginning to emerge, and it is clear that many workers are being paid around £6 an hour and would love to see a campaign for decent pay and working conditions, the relationship with the unions begins to move on to a more serious level. Unison agree to instruct Professor Peter Ambrose at Brighton University to calculate a living wage for Oxford once all the information is in from the different colleges. This will be important : the campaign will need to be able to refer to research such as this to justify whatever level of wages they demand. Meanwhile organisers are trying to identify which of the contractors are the worst offenders, and to build a rapport with cleaning staff who would be willing to play a vocal role in the campaign.

Every campaign has its unique features, but there is always much that can be learned from past campaigns.

 

living wage hustings

Labour deputy leadership candidate Jon Cruddas told the Independent this week “I am really excited about the community campaigns for a living wage of over £7 an hour that are springing up. We should support those grassroots campaigners acting to pressure multinationals to pay higher wages.” Emboldened by this, I have written to all six candidates for deputy to ask where they stand on the Living Wage.

Watch this space …

 

Home carers deserve a living wage

This week the Liverpool Daily Post reported that Liverpool council are forcing five companies providing home care for the city to sign new contracts, which will mean a 30% cut in the pay of home carers. The article said that one company had refused to sign up, but that others had done so reluctantly.

Privatisation of care homes and home care services is leading to horrific stories of exploitation of vulnerable low paid workers around the country. In Essex where Excelcare took over 10 care homes in 2005, they imposed 40% pay cuts and removed other terms and conditions. Unison are now taking legal action. In Barnet where care homes were privatised 5 years ago, Fremantle told employees in December 2006 that they had to sign new contracts which would entail a 35% pay cut or face the sack. John McDonnell recently tabled an EDM about this in parliament. In Islington Care UK, who run two elderly care homes and two elderly day centres, are trying to force staff to accept a 50% wage cut and swingeing cuts in terms and conditions. In Bristol, Carmarthenshire and Norfolk, campaigns are under way to stop privatisation of home care, fuelled by very real fears that workers could suffer a similar fate.

Home care workers are among the lowest paid in local government, yet they perform a vital service, often in extremely challenging circumstances (they have to put up with a lot of crap). Indeed their responsibilities have increased in recent years as there has been a shift toward providing nursing care, while the average hours that they work has increased.

Home care workers work unsocial hours, and have had to adapt to ‘flexible’ working patterns. It is common for employers to refuse to count some or all of the time travelling between calls as working time, although for them this can often amount to a substantial portion of the working day.

Paying low wages is a false economy. Low pay often means high turnover of staff, leading to greater training costs, poorer service, and inefficiency due to low levels of skills and experience.  Over 90% of home carers are women. How do councils justify imposing poverty wages on a sector which employs almost exclusively women workers ?

As long as councils remain under intense pressure to cut costs, it’s likely that we’ll see more horror stories like this. The plight of carers shows how vital it is to fight for a living wage – and that the struggle will not be an easy one.

 

All out for May Day

The civil servants union PCS has called a second national one day strike on May 1st. The last day of national strike action, January 31st, saw 200,000 civil servants on strike. The dispute was triggered by the prospect of below inflation pay awards to thousands of low paid workers. A quarter of the civil service earn under £15,400 and many of those on low grades earn just above minimum wage levels.

The timing of this strike is intended to put issues of low pay, job cuts and privatisation on the agenda in the run up to the elections on May 3rd. The PCS have been running a campaign called Make Your Vote Count where they have asked all the parties for responses to their concerns, and organised hustings around the country.

Mark Serwotka wants to take on the government, and bring other unions into the battle. And he’s not alone : the PCS are solidly behind him. Other unions don’t want out and out confrontation, though more public sector pay disputes are brewing.  Serwotka, it seems to me, is well qualified to lead this fight. He is capable of articulating the anger and frustration of ordinary members, and also of speaking with clarity and intelligence about the problems of a low pay culture :

PCS wants delivery of quality services and low pay often creates problems of motivation and commitment, leading to poorer services. Low pay often means high turnover of staff, leading to greater training costs and inefficiency due to low levels of skills and experience.

 At the PCS annual conference in Brighton next month, there is a motion from HMRC East Kilbride Revenue and DWP Preston Central Office calling for “a formula for the national minimum wage based on two-thirds male median wages – at least £8 an hour on 2006 figures” in order to “lift all workers beyond the poverty / benefits trap”. It would be really cool if this got accepted.

 

About this site

Since starting my living wage petition last month, I’ve been gathering lot of pieces of information about campaigns, events, supporters of a living wage and what they’ve been doing, news articles, and so on. It was my intention to write to people I knew who’d signed the petition after a couple of months to share some of this, but after a while I realised that I had more information than I could cram into an e-mail. And also that the information that I had was not enough – I needed to hear from people who’d organised events or discussed the living wage within their organisations. So here goes ! This site is both a resource for activists and a source of information for interested people about the living wage campaign. It will be regularly updated, so please send me your comments, suggestions, weblinks and reports.

As for the original petition, it’s an idea that I stumbled across after doing a bit of reading, but I’m really glad that I did it. Apart from everything that I’ve learned, it’s a great way to connect the initiated few who are strong supporters of a living wage with a wider section of the public.

Thanks to all who have already posted links to my petition, including Church Action on Poverty, Moot community, No Sweat, Brent Trades Council and Jean Lambert MEP.