Minimum Wage Under Attack Again

-

A graph of the UK's National Minimum Wage over...Image via Wikipedia

Can't say I have much good to say about the Labour Party but the introduction of the minimum wage is certainly to be applauded, even if it is way too low. But true to form the Tories are seeking to smash it under the guise of helping people to get employed with the introduction of the Employment Opportunities bill. This wonderful bill wants to provide employers with the ability to duck out of the minimum wage if the prospective employee agrees. Perhaps a more apt title would be the Employer Opportunity To Pay Crap Wages. Surprised there's not a clause in there making forelock tugging before the master compulsory.

The Employment Opportunities Bill was pulled at the last minute in May but has been rescheduled for a reading at the House of Commons on June 12th. The upstanding members below are the guilty group sponsoring the bill.

Christopher Chope (Christchurch) chopec@parliament.uk
Peter Bone (Wellingborough, Northants) bonep@parliament.uk
Philip Davies (Shipley, West Yorkshire) daviesp@parliament.uk
Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley, Wales) evansn@parliament.uk
Greg Knight (Yorkshire East) knightg@parliament.uk
Edward Leigh (Gainsborough, Lincolnshire) leighe@parliament.uk
Ian Liddell-Grainger (Bridgwater, Somerset) liddelli@parliament.uk
Brian Binley (Northampton South, Northants) binleyb@parliament.uk
William Cash (Stone, Staffs) cashw@parliament.uk
Robert Syms (Poole, Dorset) symsr@parliament.uk
David Wilshire (Spelthorne, Surrey) wilshired@parliament.uk

How they can sleep at night I really don't know. Let's hope this bill gets shown the door by whatever integrity may remain in Parliament. And the shower above.




Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Comments

  1. Charlie Marks11 June 2009 at 00:53

    It would be nice to see if they could survive on the minimum wage themselves before they try and abolish it...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chris Hall11 June 2009 at 16:46

    I wonder if anyone's ever asked them that Charlie?

    How I wish we could get MPs being paid the average wage. It would cleanse the commons of this lot at a stroke.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lee22 June 2009 at 08:36

    I agree Chris H. Dave Nellist took the average wage of a worker in his constituency - which in the mid 1980s worked out to about 40% of the parliamentary salary. Sadly he is not an MP anymore after being expelled from Labour - but he is a Socialist Party councillor in Coventry.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Chris Hall22 June 2009 at 10:12

    I remember the expulsions well Lee, how the media portrayed it as a victory for Labour when in fact it highlighted the beginning of the decline in Labour as a representative party. The integrity of those MPs like Dave Nellist who took average wages has always stuck with me. I think it should be a key concept for any parliament. Those who legislate must be made to share the pain and the gain that they impose on others, they mustn't be allowed to become remote from the electorate.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Keep it clean!

Popular posts from this blog

Animals Matter - PPCs views on hunting

-
Image
Came across this service from the League Against Cruel Sports where they offer a system where all your Parliamentary Prospective Candidates for the 2015 General Election in your constituency are contacted to find their views on aspects of hunting and animal welfare. The system works by the PPCs clicking on an email sent from me to select their views on the LACS website. http://www.league.org.uk/our-campaigns/election-manifesto/take-action-for-animals-general-election-2015 Thought I'd give it a punt as it's very easy to do. So I plug in my details and click the button to send. In my constituency of Aldershot there are 5 candidates that appeared on the LACSs system. Mr Carl Hewitt - Green Mr Alan Hilliar - Liberal Democrat Sir Gerald Howarth MP - Conservative Mr Gary Puffett - Labour Mr William Walker - UKIP My emails went out at 11am on Saturday 14th March. By 7:30 that evening I had an email. It was from Gerald Howarth, the sitting MP. As he said in his email ...
Read more

The Last Post

-
Image
As the title says. This will be my last post at Lansbury's Lido. I've finally decided to retire this blog to the heavenly archive or maybe I'll consign it to the fiery furnace leaving nowt but a shadow on the wayback machine. It's been a good ride over the years, sharing my lefty thoughts on politics and current events, sharing posts and discussions, meeting some great comrades, and also some not so great, hoping for a great socialist future where peace and harmony reigns supreme! Alas the wheels came off the bus as they say. Was it my expectations or viewing the possible futures through rose-tinted spectacles of memories past? My Left was a Left of Keir Hardie, of George Lansbury, of Attlee and Bevan and the NHS, Of Eric Heffer and Tom Mann. A left of strong union leaders working with comrades to realise Clause 4! A Left where those whose labour and brain created the wealth got to share in and control the wealth. A Left open to all, from the hoary handed worker...
Read more