Power to The People!
About 13 years ago the world, or at least the western hemisphere, underwent a financial melt down that was the worst thing to hit since the great depression of the 1920's/30's. A great deal has been written about this and also a film (The Big Short) that kind of explains where it came from, how it happened. The film of course only focuses on a small area but if you follow that you will get the gist of the financial disaster.
I raged, well actually I complained mildly, about the effect on working life in this country as a result of the economic fall out. for the last decade employers have largely been able to call the shots. The whole Amazon/Sports Direct type of zero hour contract/ minimum wage deal. I am not suggesting all zero hour contracts are minimum wage, I guess I am pointing the finger at what is known as the Gig Economy I have listened, enraged, whist business leaders quip on national radio, about trying the find the worker that goes the next 100 miles for their job (as opposed to "the extra mile") whilst all the time only offering a job on or around minimum wage. On the lines of - we expect you to give us your soul for which we will provide only the absolute minimum the law makes us!
Now the pendulum has swung back the other way. The high profile job at the moment in the UK is the lack of HGV lorry drivers. Many retired or gave up during the pandemic and the DVLA was not allowed to provide tests (Something like 30,000 tests were cancelled during 2020). At the re opening of the hospitality industry there were also complaints from high profile empoyers (Weatherspoons was among them I believe) who couldn't recruit. They had laid them off or sacked them and now they had no employees. The answer from their side was to ask for the borders to be opened and allow in all the cheap labour that their vast profits required.
Ironic when consider the CEO of Weatherspoons was an outspoken supporter of Brexit and therfore ending of free movement of the workforce that so pumped his profits.
Well my advice to these people is - PAY UP! If you paid decent wages you would not be having this problem.It is time that the workforce of thiscountry nowflexedtheir muscleand screwed big business for every penny. Shareholders reward CEO's very generously. Fact. Chief exec pay was not held back during the last tens years and the gap has grown. It is time to level up, to recognise how much profit is gained on the back of the workforce and that they are not another margin to be squeezed.
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