Skip to main content

Where Is Our £10 An Hour?

While the Scottish Government celebrates the success of the Real Living Wage initiative, and talk proudly of it's growth across the nation I find it hard to be happy about an £8.45 an hour wage when for years we've been promised a £10 an hour minimum.



Though the current real living wage isn't too far off the promised £10 an hour it's still not a big enough difference to ensure a good life style for all citizens.

With the cost of living increasing at a steeper rate than the national minimum wage, and the current conservative government aiming to remove human rights, and in so, the minimum wage entirely things do not stand to get better in the UK.

Laden with student debts and the impossibility of owning your own home outright in most areas, citizen in the UK on the whole are under intense financial pressures with no promise of it getting better.

I find it difficult to ignore the fact that council employees are paid standard wage. How are we supposed to believe that our politicians want to enforce a better wage for all citizens in every area of work when council employees, from teachers, NHS staff and city maintenance workers are facing low wages, constant cuts and increased pressure.

If the councils are not willing to increase pay in their own departments for their employees how can we trust that their going to pressure businesses across the nation to do so?

It's hard to take any good news in austerity Britain without an entire tub of salt, and even harder to believe that the hierarchy actually want to see improvements and financial security for all citizens.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Extra Measures To Protect Scotland's Golden Eagles

Almost a third of golden eagles being tracked by satellite died in suspicious circumstance, scientists have found.  The Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) research identified that the majority of cases were found where land is intensively managed for driven grouse shooting.  Environment Secretary, Roseanna Cunningham, confirmed to the Scottish Parliament she will now set up an expert group to look at managing grouse moors sustainably and within the law.  Following a request by the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee the group will also advise on the option of licensing grouse shooting businesses.  The report studied the movements of 131 young golden eagles over a 12 year period, and found more than 40 had disappeared in suspicious circumstances. It also found there was no link between fitting satellite tags and the disappearance of the birds of prey and ruled out any connection with the position of wind turbines.  In response M...

Reforms To Child Education

Deputy First Minister, John Swinney, has set out his vision of empowerment and devolution for Scottish education, putting children at the heart of the system. At the School Leaders Scotland summer conference, the deputy First Minister reiterated his pledge to make teachers and parents the key decision makers in schools. It comes ahead of a statement of Parliament by Mr Swinney next week, subject to Parliamentary approval, when he will set out the next steps for education reform. Mr Swinney, said; "As part of the relentless drive to improve Scottish education, we must embrace the need to reform and reshape our education system. To close the attainment gap and raise the bar for all, decisions about a child's learning should be made as close to that child as possible. "That is why I have pledged to make teachers and parents the key decision makers in the life of a school. Reforms already introduced, such as Pupil Equity Funding, put the power to change lives dire...

NHS Waiting Times To Be Reduced With Fifty Million Pound Investment

Scotland's NHS is to see an additional £50 million investment to improve waiting times performance, announced health secretary Shona Robison. The investment will be distributed across the territorial health boards to improve performance in a range of areas; including outpatient consultations, diagnostic tests and treatment. This will support improvements in waiting times, particularly for inpatients who have been experiencing waits above the 12 week treatment time guarantee. Ms Robison, said; "This increased funding of £50 million will help us reduce waiting times at all stages of a patient's journey through the NHS - the original consultation, and tests required, and the final procedure itself. " This investment comes in addition to the £10 million that was recently invested to reduce outpatient waiting times focusing on areas such as orthopaedics, ophthalmology and gastroenterology. Following this investment, the most recent waiting times statistics, sho...