Worker value to our communities

comparing salaries distorts and inflames the argument, but there can be no disputing that a family with two parents working should be able to pay their bills and have a bit left over for the nice things which we all want, purchase of which drives the economy. I too don't think that an MPs salary is huge, many people in senior positions in their profession will be taking a pay cut to stand as an MP ( not taking into account directorships etc). I don't give a fiddlers cuss for the ludicrous money paid to footballers etc., that is a market led decision, not mine, I don't contribute as I don't watch or follow the game.

Is a museum more or less valuable than a hospital? Depends on the needs of the day. Denise Coates is paid by idiot gamblers. Train drivers may have as many as 500+ passengers in their hands. Doctors not so many.

Rather than trying to pit the value of one worker against another, shouldn't we be arguing for everyone to be paid a decent and realistic wage?

I like many others do a do a boring job maybe I should ask for extra boredom pay

Katie59, I wouldn't argue about the different qualities needed for driving on the roads but I do think it is probably quite boring just sitting there pressing levers! We've also seen the most terrible devastation when it goes wrong with so many lives lost.
I agree entirely with your "Pure Union power" statement.

icanhandthemback

Train Driving is very boring and needs keen observation so to some extent I think it needs an attractive wage. Personally I think they are paid rather too highly which is purely down to having a very strong Union. They get perks, including rail travel, which makes it a very attractive job!

Disagree, driving a truck or bus on a motorway is much more demanding, train driving is easy, a lever has to be pressed to acknowledge every signal, if they miss a signal the train stops automatically.
Pure Union power, probably other restrictive practices too.

Rely!

Oh dear, check before posting, don't watch TV!

PamelaJ1

We passed a group of picketing post people, I didn’t honk to support them because my friend lives across the road and she was fed up with the honkers.
However it prompted a discussion with my DGS who thinks that the body guards that protect the ‘stars’ deserve a really good salary. I plumped for refuse collectors. My husband chose farm workers, especially those that had to milk cows at a very early o’clock. Guess what he did for a living😂

Without farmers, where would the rest of us be?

Nurses, train drivers, MPs and all of us rep,y on farmers. 🙂

Well we need train drivers and nurses so it would be good if their pay and work conditions fell in line with that of a first world country

According to DH (ex. management at Euston House), privatisation of the rail companies led to higher pay for train drivers. Signalmen used to be on the same pay scale as drivers under BR but they chose to work for Rail Track, subsequently Network Rail, so ended up on a lower wage. Drivers can command higher wages still by choosing to go with the bigger rail companies.

A very small percentage of train drivers experience suicide victims throwing themselves on to the track. Sometimes, they are too traumatised to work again.

Is Denise Coates worth £260,000,000 per year?

www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jan/06/bet365-boss-denise-coates-was-paid-more-than-260m-in-year-to-march

Train Driving is very boring and needs keen observation so to some extent I think it needs an attractive wage. Personally I think they are paid rather too highly which is purely down to having a very strong Union. They get perks, including rail travel, which makes it a very attractive job!

More to the point a Train drivers career wages are remarkably similar to a doctor, starting salary high £20s up to £70k, I know which are most value to society.

We passed a group of picketing post people, I didn’t honk to support them because my friend lives across the road and she was fed up with the honkers.
However it prompted a discussion with my DGS who thinks that the body guards that protect the ‘stars’ deserve a really good salary. I plumped for refuse collectors. My husband chose farm workers, especially those that had to milk cows at a very early o’clock. Guess what he did for a living😂

MaizieD

I don't think you get anywhere with comparing the 'value' of jobs.

What is essential is that work pays enough for a reasonable standard of life, and perhaps there should be some proportionality to it, such as CEOs shouldn't be paid more than x times the wage of their employees...

I don't think that MPs are overpaid, BTW. I just think that voters should make better choices...

I think that the quality of MPs is pretty abysmal at the moment. So I don’t think that they are worth their salary.

I don't think you get anywhere with comparing the 'value' of jobs.

What is essential is that work pays enough for a reasonable standard of life, and perhaps there should be some proportionality to it, such as CEOs shouldn't be paid more than x times the wage of their employees...

I don't think that MPs are overpaid, BTW. I just think that voters should make better choices...

Sometimes it is a matter of supply and demand as regards wages.
Maybe not many people will do train driving? Just guessing.

Or indeed is an MP worth more than either of them? Particularly when you add in all the benefits they receive.