Enough is Enough

Expecting someone to provide their labour for a wage that is not sufficient to feed them or keep them warm is both immoral and exploitation.

Regarding profits being passed on to consumers, I heard the head of Iceland saying yesterday that the large supermarkets have to be willing to accept less profit during this economic crisis. IMO, he is an honourable man and a good example of how business can work both for profit and for the consumer. Regarding the Enough is Enough campaign, for anyone who’s interested, you can follow them on Instagram, where you can see clips from last night’s rally. They are intending to hold 50 rallies across the country in the coming weeks / months. This is about the ordinary ‘man in the street’ speaking out.

Whitewavemark2

Expecting someone to provide their labour for a wage that is not sufficient to feed them or keep them warm is both immoral and exploitation.

I do not necessarily disagree with your sentiment but has that much changed over the last 40 years.
For instance when we were first married I obviously worked full time in a reasonable job as an accounts clerk. Now there was no way I could have kept a roof over our heads on that salary. It took my husbands income at the time to pay the mortgage ect He had a manual job at the time no special training needed but it was exceptionally hard work paying probably 3 times the average salary.
The same among our friends they had a few years at work by this time and had progressed to higher salaries.
Has it ever been possible to run a household on a minimum salary
The wasn’t the benefits then of working tax credits ect

I can't attend but a huge thank you to everyone willing to fight for a fairer way forward

Thank you VioletSky

DoodleDog You are right about an increased minimum wage and your comments regarding small businesses. If employers cannot afford to pay £31k pa then maybe they shouldn't be in business?

The owners/directors of too many companies are forgetting that they need decent staff, well paid, to help their businesses continue successfully.

rosie1959

Whitewavemark2

Expecting someone to provide their labour for a wage that is not sufficient to feed them or keep them warm is both immoral and exploitation.

I do not necessarily disagree with your sentiment but has that much changed over the last 40 years.
For instance when we were first married I obviously worked full time in a reasonable job as an accounts clerk. Now there was no way I could have kept a roof over our heads on that salary. It took my husbands income at the time to pay the mortgage ect He had a manual job at the time no special training needed but it was exceptionally hard work paying probably 3 times the average salary.
The same among our friends they had a few years at work by this time and had progressed to higher salaries.
Has it ever been possible to run a household on a minimum salary
The wasn’t the benefits then of working tax credits ect

Well yes, it was possible. Many women didn’t work. People had decent lives because they didn’t have to pay extortionate rents if they were unable to afford to buy their own houses, and the money earned was enough to pay for food and essentials. What happened -Thatcher. I just don’t see how anybody can justify not paying people enough to survive on when they are on minimum wages, expecting food banks and charities to bail them out is a sad indictment of our society.

Doodledog

If someone can't afford to pay employees a living wage, they shouldn't be in business, IMO. So many people claim that they can't afford to pay enough for their staff to live with dignity, get sick pay or maternity leave, yet they go on holiday, send their children to fee-paying schools etc. I'm not against profit, or against people getting rich, but it shouldn't be at the expense of others.

Agreed, and so many employers, including the big supermarkets are happy for you, the taxpayer, to subsidise low wages with Universal Credit.

Germanshepherdsmum

The consumer will pay for a £15ph minimum wage.

The consumer already pays; it is called Universal credit which tops up wages too low for anyone to run a home and fed themselves/family without it. What is it about people who presumably have earned more than £15 per hour themselves that makes them think that others shouldn't?

Agreed HousePlantQueen. Pulling the ladder up after themselves so that others can’t use it!

Did I say they shouldn’t? No.