mr contrite Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 The supermarkets employ more than the minimum wage staff you see at the checkout, stocking shelves or collecting trolleys, there are the butchers, bakers, pharmacists, managers etc etc who ARE on a living wage, many of the low paid staff are (as has been pointed out) unskilled, and low aspiration, whereas many others work there because of the flexibility of the hours, allowing them to fit work in with school hours, or other commitments, and many do not claim tax credits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Welcome to the politics of envy. How do you decide how much someone should be paid? By some bizarre and completely irrational notion of fairness? If two people are offering me the identical service, I will always choose the cheaper one, it's senseless to do otherwise. Employers see things in the same way. And what do these businesses do with the money they earn? Well just look at how many people Tescos employ, then factor in how many others they'll employ indirectly, then look at how much they contribute in taxes to things like benefits, education and the health service. Why are people so desperate to criticise a business for being successful? Where do they think the money goes? Do people have a vision of it being stored in a large warehouse somewhere in the Midlands? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaveUK Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 but on the upside least the UK min wage is one of the highest in the EU, yes I know it costs more to live ETC in UK but still http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/364f799a-1e5b-11dc-bc22-000b5df10621.html bit out of date I know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathom Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 When labour were voted into power I asked my staff who had voted Labour and put them onto minimum wage which was not good for them cos it was a reduction. And that would also be highly illegal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathom Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Welcome to the politics of envy. How do you decide how much someone should be paid? By some bizarre and completely irrational notion of fairness? If two people are offering me the identical service, I will always choose the cheaper one, it's senseless to do otherwise. Employers see things in the same way. And what do these businesses do with the money they earn? Well just look at how many people Tescos employ, then factor in how many others they'll employ indirectly, then look at how much they contribute in taxes to things like benefits, education and the health service. Why are people so desperate to criticise a business for being successful? Where do they think the money goes? Do people have a vision of it being stored in a large warehouse somewhere in the Midlands? It all depends if you are quite happy to pay more and more in tax each year to subsidise low wages when the companies could be paying these people more. I know I'm certainly not. I'd rather have my money to spend than hand it over to Branson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr contrite Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Welcome to the politics of envy. How do you decide how much someone should be paid? By some bizarre and completely irrational notion of fairness? If two people are offering me the identical service, I will always choose the cheaper one, it's senseless to do otherwise. Employers see things in the same way. So actually it is the consumers fault for the low wages, we continually want goods at cheaper prices, we should collectively hang our heads in shame, (tongue in cheek) but basically thats what it boils down to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 It all depends if you are quite happy to pay more and more in tax each year to subsidise low wages when the companies could be paying these people more. I know I'm certainly not. I'd rather have my money to spend than hand it over to Branson. No I'm not happy about it, but I don't see it as a problem that should be addressed at Tescos, but at the Government. If it wants to create a joined-up policy, it can simply raise the level of the minimum wage, so why doesn't it? Secondly, how do you know you would have the money in your hand over time? Policies that retard economic growth tend to reduce personal wealth, not increase it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darbees Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 It all depends if you are quite happy to pay more and more in tax each year to subsidise low wages when the companies could be paying these people more. I know I'm certainly not. I'd rather have my money to spend than hand it over to Branson.We don't hand all our money to the likes of Branson and the other people who have been mentioned here. Branson is self made and does supply rather a lot of employment and turns over colossal sums of money most of which he doesn't get for himself. Legislation about wages can't be based on the fact that a few people earn a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathom Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 So actually it is the consumers fault for the low wages, we continually want goods at cheaper prices, we should collectively hang our heads in shame, (tongue in cheek) but basically thats what it boils down to. How come Aldi staff are paid about twice as much as Tesco staff then? Also, how about public services workers? Hospital cleaners for example? The companies who won the contracts for those services pay appalling wages but the 'customer' has no choice there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathom Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 We don't hand all our money to the likes of Branson and the other people who have been mentioned here. Branson is self made and does supply rather a lot of employment and turns over colossal sums of money most of which he doesn't get for himself. Legislation about wages can't be based on the fact that a few people earn a lot. Yes you do. You pay tax which then has to go on tax credits to bring low earners' wages up to a (barely) decent standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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