Fight Low Pay
"THE RESPONSE we’ve had campaigning against low pay has been
amazing", Suzanne Beishon from Hackney International Socialist
Resistance (ISR) told the socialist. "We’ve done two stalls so far –
one at HMV on Oxford Street, and one outside the shopping centre in Angel.
Both were really good. We got loads of names, mostly people signing
because they were low paid, or because they were looking for work and
being treated like crap. Loads of students were giving us donations of £1
or £2.
"On the stall at Angel we had a ‘wall of shame’ where people could
write down what their employers were paying them, and peanuts sprinkled on
the table so that people could take them.
"Quite a lot wanted to join the campaign and we’re thinking about
organising a meeting to explain to people about knowing their rights, why
they should join a trade union and how to get organised where they work.
Over the summer we’re going to try and target one of the big chains of
shops that pays badly, going to all the different branches in
London."
The cheap labour economy hits young people hardest. Poverty pay is the
norm for many young people. So are casual, insecure jobs with no prospects
or training. Food, rent and travel doesn’t cost any less if you’re young.
But the government claims that workers under 22 need 70p less an hour to
live on. They have set the minimum wage at £4.50 an hour for workers who
are 22 and over, while the minimum for 18-21-year-olds is £3.80 an hour!
Millions of workers are being paid poverty wages by Scrooge employers
who are only interested in one thing – making more profit. An average
Tesco worker earns £13,598 a year – 181 times less than the chief
executive, who ‘earns’ £916,000 a year basic salary. On top of this, in
2002 he received ‘additional benefits’ bringing his total pay package to
£2.8 million!
But who produces the profits in Tesco’s and other major companies? It
is workers, not the executives, who produce the goods, process them,
transport them, build the stores, stack the shelves and make sure the
money is collected at the tills. International Socialist Resistance will
be out on the streets this summer campaigning for a living wage for all.
If you’re fed up of being paid peanuts; if you’re fed up of being
treated like dirt by employers who just want cheap labour: join the
campaign, join a trade union and fight for your rights at work!
