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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/jun/16/low-wages-too-high-price
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| Low wages come at too high a price | Low wages come at too high a price |
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| Zoe Williams is right when she says that the minimum wage is not enough to live on – but many employers even avoid the small amount of £6.19 per hour (What's holding Britain down isn't benefits. It's low pay, 13 June). Anecdotal evidence of this criminal offence started to become available following the influx of young people from eastern Europe. Many of them started working in restaurants, bars and shops and found their wages were far short of the legal minimum. The issue became a topic of regular conversation and complaint, although not directly to their employers, as they were worried about being sacked. | Zoe Williams is right when she says that the minimum wage is not enough to live on – but many employers even avoid the small amount of £6.19 per hour (What's holding Britain down isn't benefits. It's low pay, 13 June). Anecdotal evidence of this criminal offence started to become available following the influx of young people from eastern Europe. Many of them started working in restaurants, bars and shops and found their wages were far short of the legal minimum. The issue became a topic of regular conversation and complaint, although not directly to their employers, as they were worried about being sacked. |
| It was clear that the regulatory authority, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, was ineffective. I submitted a freedom of information request to HMRC, focusing on Hackney, where I live. The results were not surprising. | It was clear that the regulatory authority, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, was ineffective. I submitted a freedom of information request to HMRC, focusing on Hackney, where I live. The results were not surprising. |
| During the period 2008-12 there was an average of only 38 investigations per year in Hackney, an area of hundreds of places of employment. There are only eight HMRC compliance officers for the whole of greater London, and 93 nationally. Six prosecutions have been brought in the whole of the UK and only 5,021 instances of non-compliance were identified. It is not surprising that bad employers believe they are immune from this law. | During the period 2008-12 there was an average of only 38 investigations per year in Hackney, an area of hundreds of places of employment. There are only eight HMRC compliance officers for the whole of greater London, and 93 nationally. Six prosecutions have been brought in the whole of the UK and only 5,021 instances of non-compliance were identified. It is not surprising that bad employers believe they are immune from this law. |
| Hackney council will be organising a widespread campaign later this year aimed at persuading employers to comply with the minimum wage legislation and, further, to implement the London living wage of £8.55 per hour. Another logical step would be for the Labour party leadership to adopt a policy of removing the responsibility from HMRC and passing it to local authorities. They should have the same powers as they possess for environmental health, including the ability to carry out spot checks on establishments' pay rolls and to interview staff. Tim Webb London | Hackney council will be organising a widespread campaign later this year aimed at persuading employers to comply with the minimum wage legislation and, further, to implement the London living wage of £8.55 per hour. Another logical step would be for the Labour party leadership to adopt a policy of removing the responsibility from HMRC and passing it to local authorities. They should have the same powers as they possess for environmental health, including the ability to carry out spot checks on establishments' pay rolls and to interview staff. Tim Webb London |
| • Your editorial (13 June) summarised the Institute for Fiscal Studies report on the declining state of wages for most workers in Britain. Zoe William's reinforced this message with her excellent comment piece. It's understandable for readers to despair, shrug their shoulders, blame greedy employers and move on. The problem with this reaction is that it does not change the situation and, by blaming others, probably makes things worse. | • Your editorial (13 June) summarised the Institute for Fiscal Studies report on the declining state of wages for most workers in Britain. Zoe William's reinforced this message with her excellent comment piece. It's understandable for readers to despair, shrug their shoulders, blame greedy employers and move on. The problem with this reaction is that it does not change the situation and, by blaming others, probably makes things worse. |
| Citizens cannot, should not and do not wait on the state or the market to react – it has always been the role of civil society to lead and seek out creative solutions to those injustices, such as low wages, that impact most dramatically on our families and communities. | Citizens cannot, should not and do not wait on the state or the market to react – it has always been the role of civil society to lead and seek out creative solutions to those injustices, such as low wages, that impact most dramatically on our families and communities. |
| More than 200 major employers in both the public and private sector are now accredited by the Living Wage Foundation as "living wage employers". They have shown, by example and leadership, that it need not be a race to the bottom but compete to do better in the race to give workers dignity, a family wage and the respect that leads to higher morale and productivity. Neil Jameson Lead organiser, London Citizens | More than 200 major employers in both the public and private sector are now accredited by the Living Wage Foundation as "living wage employers". They have shown, by example and leadership, that it need not be a race to the bottom but compete to do better in the race to give workers dignity, a family wage and the respect that leads to higher morale and productivity. Neil Jameson Lead organiser, London Citizens |
| • The squeeze on low wages in the UK, contrary to Zoe Williams's excellent article, started earlier. Along with the increase in wealth at the top and drive for profit at any cost, it represented a significant shift of wealth from poor to rich from the 1980s. When Labour returned to power in 1997 it faced a low-wage economy. Its response was to introduce the national minimum wage in 1998, but finding that inadequate to the task, introduced tax credits in 2003. Both steps, in effect, subsidised the failure of companies to pay proper wages. Low-paid workers pay less tax which, with tax credits and the minimum wage, costs the exchequer. David Murray Wallington, Surrey | • The squeeze on low wages in the UK, contrary to Zoe Williams's excellent article, started earlier. Along with the increase in wealth at the top and drive for profit at any cost, it represented a significant shift of wealth from poor to rich from the 1980s. When Labour returned to power in 1997 it faced a low-wage economy. Its response was to introduce the national minimum wage in 1998, but finding that inadequate to the task, introduced tax credits in 2003. Both steps, in effect, subsidised the failure of companies to pay proper wages. Low-paid workers pay less tax which, with tax credits and the minimum wage, costs the exchequer. David Murray Wallington, Surrey |
| • The lot of our unskilled citizenry will only improve once we curtail immigration from within, as well as, without the EU. The market's response will be to raise unskilled wages. There will, admittedly, be a transfer of purchasing power from the "haves" to the "have-nots" as menial jobs that cannot be outsourced abroad become more costly. This is a small price to pay for anyone concerned about national cohesiveness. Yugo Kovach Winterborne Houghton, Dorset | • The lot of our unskilled citizenry will only improve once we curtail immigration from within, as well as, without the EU. The market's response will be to raise unskilled wages. There will, admittedly, be a transfer of purchasing power from the "haves" to the "have-nots" as menial jobs that cannot be outsourced abroad become more costly. This is a small price to pay for anyone concerned about national cohesiveness. Yugo Kovach Winterborne Houghton, Dorset |
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