Bosses prosper, workers suffer...

Join the 30 Nov strike

Manchester: 30 June coordinated strike action by the PCS civil service union and NUT, ATL and UCU teaching unions, photo Hugh Caffrey   (Click to enlarge)

Tim Cutter, secretary Hampshire Unison branch, personal capacity

A recent survey of top 100 FTSE chief executives has shown that in the last year these bosses have received, on average, 50% pay rises. Top company boss Martin Sorrell had the brass neck to complain that his £1 million basic salary was "very low"!

This at a time when many workers have had to endure pay freezes especially in the public sector. In some cases, such as Southampton City and Hampshire county council, workers face pay cuts. Most of these workers are already some of the lowest paid. In the private sector as well, those who have received any pay rises have seen them more than wiped out by price inflation.

It's a disgrace that the parasites at the top can award themselves such huge rises while at the same time calling for further cuts in public spending, leading to more job losses and attacks on workers' terms and conditions.

The fat cats have tried to defend themselves by claiming that their salaries and bonuses are set by independent pay review boards. But the bosses sit on each others' review boards where they recommend huge pay increases for each other!

They have even claimed that their massive pay rises are down to 'performance', yet the system they head is in crisis. If their pay is linked to performance they should be paying us for the mess they've created!

Cameron and Clegg have expressed 'concern' over pay inequalities but working class people won't be fooled by this. The Con-Dems are determined to make the poorest people in society pay for the bankers' greed and the failures of capitalism.

Socialism

All of the three main parties support the current system and are in favour of cuts, yet none of them will ever seriously tackle the greed of the bosses. This is because they are part of the same corrupt class that benefits from the status quo and allows the obscenity of growing inequalities to continue.

The only way to end the corporate greed and massive pay inequality is to end the profit system itself.

On 30 November millions of public sector workers will take strike action to defend our pensions. We need to link this struggle to the fight to protect jobs and services and for decent pay for all workers.

However, only by fighting for socialism will we finally be able to end the misery of low pay for the majority and the disgusting spectacle of over-paid bosses and millionaire politicians telling us that 'we are all in it together'.

Strike at Sussex Downs College

Workplace news in brief

Come to the 6th annual NSSN conference!

Second strike by Tilbury dockers over attack on contracts

M10: Angry workers walk out across the country

10 May sees united strike - but teacher unions shirk their responsibilities

Pay:

National Shop Stewards Network

Council workers in Cheshire strike against attacks on pay

Victory for Greenwich Unite library campaign

Police demo shows that opposition to cuts is growing

Cuts:

Bristol East Socialist Party: There is an Alternative

Demo against cuts at Salford university

Walthamstow Socialist Party: France - Greece - Austerity rejected!

Hampshire:

Hampshire Socialist Party: Marxist philosophy

Hampshire Socialist Party: Trotsky - his relevance today

Hampshire Socialist Party: Socialist internationalism

Public sector:

Kick out the Con-Dems and end austerity

Public sector

Fight Austerity

Capitalism:

Brighton Socialist Party: The psychological and social effects of capitalism

JP Morgan: banksters at it again

Why I joined the Socialist Party