May Day meet up

[therealjr]

Spotted most of the 'usual suspects' on there.
Of course on the 'Workers Holiday' some of us were working!!
Interesting that the Unison Sheffield banner was on show.
Presumably the days of the Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire are long gone.

[emmz]

sorry didnt get the chance got carted off to Linacre res for the day and some pub grub sorry it didnt work out but hope the march went ok

[Slacker]

New route, didn't go past your street

[Slacker]

Spotted most of the 'usual suspects' on there.
Of course on the 'Workers Holiday' some of us were working!!
Interesting that the Unison Sheffield banner was on show.
Presumably the days of the Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire are long gone.

Maybe the big supermarkets could get together and agree not to open on public holidays. £et's see if that is £ikely to happen

[Old Cruser]

Wouldn't bank on that Slacker, I was one of the staff in the old woollies years ago who opposed Sunday/Bank Holiday working (it was optional back then, just starting up) Unfortunately the younger generation and part time students they set on did it as they needed the money (seem to think they had enhanced pay back then) We warned where it would lead but no one listened.
Shop staff get a raw deal in my opinion 

[therealjr]

Maybe the big supermarkets could get together and agree not to open on public holidays. £et's see if that is £ikely to happen

£82k says no chance

[k4blades]

Reminds me of when I used to work for McDs.
They used to pay extra to the staff who worked evenings or Sundays, as well as bank holidays, which was an encouragement to help cover those unsociable hours that people don't always want to work.
When the minimum wage came in, they phased it out so the hourly rate applied whenever you worked.
It made no direct difference to me as I was salaried but I said it would make it much harder to get cover for some shifts....why work till midnight on a Friday when everyone else is going out, if you can get the same money for working a boring Wednesday afternoon.
The minimum wage was a big leveller, not just raising the rate for everyone, but taking out all the extra perks, making it worse for some. McDs, (and Sainsburys if I remember correctly), were classed as "employers of choice", which meant they were seen as good employers and better than others in their sector. Now they are all seen as the same, with no real difference between them. Basically, the minimum wage as done to employment what comprehensive education did to schools...averaged everything out. That's OK if you are from below that average, but if you are from just above that average, not so good.
And it was meant to improve things for those on lower wages but the gap between rich and poor has grown, and those on low incomes are really struggling at the moment.

But that's just me getting political again.
 

[Slacker]

Surely everyone is entitled to a living wage without having to do 60 hours a week to earn it? The security business one I can think of where there was a lot of exploitation.

[mycul]

Watch Andy's video, I am 8:19 mins in.  Ugly bugger with a flat cap!!!!

[k4blades]

Surely everyone is entitled to a living wage without having to do 60 hours a week to earn it? The security business one I can think of where there was a lot of exploitation.

But is it a living wage if the costs have to go up to fund that wage. Easy, (and niave) to look at hourly in rate in isolation, look at relative income. People today often feel worse off than they did 10 years ago.....
I agree people shouldn't have to work 60hrs a week, that needs prices to come down, and that needs costs to come down.
Economics is easy for those of us who aren't politically blinkered.

[Pete]

>> that needs costs to come down.

Easy - let the supermarkets cut their margins - all of them.

*runs for cover*

[Slacker]

Latest company in trouble is Clinton's. That's because their cards are about twice the cost of other places so people with less disposable cash are shopping round and buying cards for half the price elsewhere. If other places can sell cheaper then Clinton's must have worked on q big mark-up. Greed has come back to bite them. Do Clinton's pay twice the wage as Card Factory /warehouse /etc? I doubt it.

[k4blades]

In the same way Lidl sell food cheaper than Sainsburys but which offer the best benefits for staff....oh and more jobs as a company, meaning less unemployed.
(Though I do agree that some businesses are greedy, but a lot of it is poor management. Clintons were heavily in debt to an American competitor that called in their debts. Of course, some would say its OK to be in debt so spend money like its going out of fasion, but thats how businesses AND countries end up bankrupt)

[therealjr]

>> that needs costs to come down.

Easy - let the supermarkets cut their margins - all of them.

*runs for cover*

but you are back to economics. We have to make a large(ish) profit to keep the shareholders happy. The shareholders tend to be the big pension funds. This means that those of you with private pensions need us to make large profits. Which means we will charge you more at the checkout. Where do you break the cycle?