Lobby the club to pay the living wage

windymiller · December 10, 2014

I know that this has been mentioned in a couple of other threads (and if the mods feel this should be locked or merged then fair enough) but, in light of Luton Town's recent decision to commit to paying all of their staff the living wage and the call by the TUC for us to do the same (http://www.tuc.org.uk/economic-issu...d-liverpool-football-clubs-become-living-wage), I would like to ask any supporters who support the living wage to write to the club and ask them to adopt this policy (http://www.evertonfc.com/functional/contact-us). If a club with the turnover of Luton Town can do this then surely The People's Club can?

Kiwi · December 11, 2014

Even Osman?

Khalekan · December 11, 2014

Is the "living wage" the same as the minimum wage?

Surely EFC would nit be allowed to pay below that.

Kiwi · December 11, 2014

Khalekan said:
Is the "living wage" the same as the minimum wage?

Surely EFC would nit be allowed to pay below that.

Nah. Living wage is the amount that some independent groups have identified as a wage that enables the worker to meet and pay for basic necessities of life.

windymiller · December 11, 2014

No, the living wage is £7.85 per hour. It is higher than the minimum wage and, unfortunately, there is no legal requirement to pay it.

Elong · December 11, 2014

The moment you start paying everyone the living wage it no longer is the living wage. Not a fan.

Shipped · December 11, 2014

Elong said:
The moment you start paying everyone the living wage it no longer is the living wage. Not a fan.

What does that mean? The price of everything goes up in response to the poorest having an extra 40 quid a week?

Kiwi · December 11, 2014

Elong said:
The moment you start paying everyone the living wage it no longer is the living wage. Not a fan.

In a nutshell yeah, basic costs of commodities rise as wages do because businesses try to account for the rise in costs. That being said though, having Everton do it for their workers would be a reasonable thing to do.

Kiwi · December 11, 2014

Shipped said:
What does that mean? The price of everything goes up in response to the poorest having an extra 40 quid a week?

You're a business owner selling commodities. You employ staff on the minimum wage. If the minimum wage is raised you have to find the money to pay the extra amount to your staff. As such the likelihood is you'll raise prices on your commodities to find the money. This in turn causes the living wage to increase as basic commodities are more expensive. Hence its a cycle.

windymiller · December 11, 2014

Elong said:
The moment you start paying everyone the living wage it no longer is the living wage. Not a fan.

That implies a linear relationship between living costs and wages. Whilst this might be true of commodities other costs, including the largest cost for many low income families - servicing debt, are unaffected. There is very poor evidence linking rising wages to rising rent. So, an increase in pay for the poorest in society raises living standards and increases the tax base. That is surely a good thing.

Elong · December 11, 2014

windymiller said:
That implies a linear relationship between living costs and wages. Whilst this might be true of commodities other costs, including the largest cost for many low income families - servicing debt, are unaffected. There is very poor evidence linking rising wages to rising rent. So, an increase in pay for the poorest in society raises living standards and increases the tax base. That is surely a good thing.

Also an increase in inflation. Not a fan at all.

However, in Everton's case where one employee is getting paid 80k a week to kick a ball around, I figure they could afford to pay the cleaners a wee bit more and not be mingebags.

Khalekan · December 11, 2014

Elong said:
Also an increase in inflation. Not a fan at all.

However, in Everton's case where one employee is getting paid 80k a week to kick a ball around, I figure they could afford to pay the cleaners a wee bit more and not be mingebags.

mind you, I would be surprised if the cleaners are directly employed by EFC

It is problly a contract cleaning firm which employs the cleaners.

Shipped · December 11, 2014

Kiwi said:
This in turn causes the living wage to increase as basic commodities are more expensive. Hence its a cycle.

Elong said:
Also an increase in inflation. Not a fan at all.

Were the same arguments, used here against employers adding about a quid to the legal minimum wage, also used against the introduction of a minimum wage at all? Do you folks think the minimum wage itself is a bad idea ( Leads to inflation etc.)?

Khalekan · December 11, 2014

Shipped said:
Were the same arguments, used here against employers adding about a quid to the legal minimum wage, also used against the introduction of a minimum wage at all? Do you folks think the minimum wage itself is a bad idea ( Leads to inflation etc.)?

I think it is a bad idea but not for those reasons.

The minimum wage is keeping wages down for millions of people as it becomes in effect the maximum wage an employer will pay.

Many employers hide behind the minimum wage in order to pay less than a job is worth.