this was the Tory plan tax breaks for the rich, squeeze the middle class and push more people into poverty.
I pray for an early election but I don’t hold out hope
Why I left my job as a Dustman after 7 years.
Got all the paperwork to back a lot of shit up when I say the systems fucked.
This happens not only in the UK but all around. Essential workers being squeezed to keep the trickle up economies going. And we stand by, look at it, accept it, and continue. One thing is certain, people in 1789 decided that looking and accepting was not going to work for them anymore. Fast forward to the present day and see how browbeaten we’ve become, being but a shadow of the past.
To be honest Brexit and COVID have done a whole lot more for workers rights than the last fifteen years of Labour and Conservative governments. Worker shortages caused by both disasters are definitely the silver linings here because it’s given workers far more leverage to bargain for better working conditions and salaries. Also means that the current socio-political climate has become a moment of reckoning for British businesses.
I’m not trying to suggest that NHS staff should just pack their bags and quit or go on strike, because that would lead to catastrophic losses of life. But when there’s widespread labour shortages across the board leading to HGV drivers getting paid a lot more than a lot of medical staff, it’s going to make future generations seriously question if it’s worth aspiring to work in medicine.
Like… would you rather put yourself through 3 years of education/training and £50k (tuition & maintenance fees) of student debt for a nursing degree to earn about £25k – £30k a year, or around £4k in fast-track training fees to pick up a HGV licence over a matter of weeks to earn £50k a year? Both are stressful jobs where you’d potentially work very long hours, but at least HGV drivers are being offered much higher wages instead of having a government offer them a mere 1% payrise while the public pay lip-service to their hard work & dedication by going outside and clapping their hands at 5pm every afternoon.
Same goes for any kind of blue collar job, really. Why would you study for a degree to earn less when you can go straight out of school, drive some trucks around and in a few years be wealthy enough to outright buy a house?
We Brits are the lucky ones who only have to pay back student loans after our income goes above a certain amount and it’s already a pretty shit deal. Imagine what it’s like for American students who get into much higher debt than we do, and face the very real risk of bankruptcy and foreclosure.
25-30% real terms pay cut for doctors in comparison to 2008
If we make the case that MPs should be paid competitive salaries to attract the best workers does that not mean we are deliberately doing the opposite with essential workers?
It is like that in almost all of the so called western democracies. The US of A comes readily into mind as an extreme example but it is noticeable everywhere.
A lot of people want to believe that this is caused by greedy elites and the actions of the government which are seen anywhere on a scale ranging from ineptitude to malevolance.
And this has indeed some appeal bc it seems that it is, at its core, a simple problem that can be solved with a simple solution. Like Brexit or the right man/woman at the right place.
But, alas, it isn’t.
The thing is that a good part of our former fortune came from abroad – by exploiting the so called third world. Literally countless millions of people in Asia and even Africa are now MUCH better off than they were 50 years ago. This is because they can now do more and know more and thus there is a HUGE pressure on the western democracies to be more and more efficient if they want to maintain their distance and preserve their share of the cake.
But there are just so many people that you can train to be scientists and developers.
And thus we need to totally rethink and rebuild how we view work.
And this is anything but easy bc for almost 2000 years we first did view personal prowess and later working as some sort of salvation. Indeed one revolutionary thing of christianity was that the simple worker was held in such a high regard.
And second of all there is a simple truth regarding money: it always comes first and foremost to those who already have it.
And thus we also would need to remodel our monetary system to some degree.
But the average people always fear change unless it seems simple and controllable and thus anyone wanting to radically change society will likely not have a majority of votes anytime soon.
So we can expect this to carry on until there is no more choice (and maybe then some). But ultimately it depends on people voting for their own fair interests and not against them.
We all have the power to kick the Tories out next election.
And what pisses us off? We’re asked to come to work because we’re essential, the Office staff were told to stay home because they’re not essential, were given nearly full pay for a time, then WFH and all the while we all get a lovely tax raise, and Yet Furloughed, Non Essential and those at High Risk were all given benefits of being told to stay home and not travel, the Essential workers were all kept at risk of catching Covid nad spreading it among our families and we all get taxed the same
​
​
Honestly, Key Workers should have a reduce tax rate, those that were either furloughed or WFH should be paying more taxes, to cover their “Holidays” hell Office workers still want to keep their WFH or only work 4 days a week, and yet they’re shocked when I have such disdain for them.
Everyone who isn’t already rich is worse off than they used to be. We’ve had 10 years of dismantling everything while the Tories failed to stimulate the economy. They’re incompetent at running a country, they’re con artists and thieves.
GUYS GUYS PLEASE IGNORE THIS DRIVEL AND CARRY ON CLAPPING ON THURSDAYS
In the private sector, the “labour shortage” (which isn’t really a shortage but whatever) will enable workers to demand better pay and conditions.
That will then lead to it being impossible to staff public services, because they can earn twice as much stacking shelves or whatever, and so the public sector will be forced into improving them too, even if the government is not enlightened enough to do it proactively.
Ideally we would vote for a government that will do it proactively, but I wouldn’t bet on that happening at the next election, and the next election might not be for a while anyway.
So is everybody else.
I don’t know anyone who’s had above-interest raises every year.
Just out of interest did supermarket workers get downgraded from being essential during the pandemic back to being dogsbody status?
14 comments
this was the Tory plan tax breaks for the rich, squeeze the middle class and push more people into poverty.
I pray for an early election but I don’t hold out hope
Why I left my job as a Dustman after 7 years.
Got all the paperwork to back a lot of shit up when I say the systems fucked.
This happens not only in the UK but all around. Essential workers being squeezed to keep the trickle up economies going. And we stand by, look at it, accept it, and continue. One thing is certain, people in 1789 decided that looking and accepting was not going to work for them anymore. Fast forward to the present day and see how browbeaten we’ve become, being but a shadow of the past.
To be honest Brexit and COVID have done a whole lot more for workers rights than the last fifteen years of Labour and Conservative governments. Worker shortages caused by both disasters are definitely the silver linings here because it’s given workers far more leverage to bargain for better working conditions and salaries. Also means that the current socio-political climate has become a moment of reckoning for British businesses.
I’m not trying to suggest that NHS staff should just pack their bags and quit or go on strike, because that would lead to catastrophic losses of life. But when there’s widespread labour shortages across the board leading to HGV drivers getting paid a lot more than a lot of medical staff, it’s going to make future generations seriously question if it’s worth aspiring to work in medicine.
Like… would you rather put yourself through 3 years of education/training and £50k (tuition & maintenance fees) of student debt for a nursing degree to earn about £25k – £30k a year, or around £4k in fast-track training fees to pick up a HGV licence over a matter of weeks to earn £50k a year? Both are stressful jobs where you’d potentially work very long hours, but at least HGV drivers are being offered much higher wages instead of having a government offer them a mere 1% payrise while the public pay lip-service to their hard work & dedication by going outside and clapping their hands at 5pm every afternoon.
Same goes for any kind of blue collar job, really. Why would you study for a degree to earn less when you can go straight out of school, drive some trucks around and in a few years be wealthy enough to outright buy a house?
We Brits are the lucky ones who only have to pay back student loans after our income goes above a certain amount and it’s already a pretty shit deal. Imagine what it’s like for American students who get into much higher debt than we do, and face the very real risk of bankruptcy and foreclosure.
25-30% real terms pay cut for doctors in comparison to 2008
If we make the case that MPs should be paid competitive salaries to attract the best workers does that not mean we are deliberately doing the opposite with essential workers?
It is like that in almost all of the so called western democracies. The US of A comes readily into mind as an extreme example but it is noticeable everywhere.
A lot of people want to believe that this is caused by greedy elites and the actions of the government which are seen anywhere on a scale ranging from ineptitude to malevolance.
And this has indeed some appeal bc it seems that it is, at its core, a simple problem that can be solved with a simple solution. Like Brexit or the right man/woman at the right place.
But, alas, it isn’t.
The thing is that a good part of our former fortune came from abroad – by exploiting the so called third world. Literally countless millions of people in Asia and even Africa are now MUCH better off than they were 50 years ago. This is because they can now do more and know more and thus there is a HUGE pressure on the western democracies to be more and more efficient if they want to maintain their distance and preserve their share of the cake.
But there are just so many people that you can train to be scientists and developers.
And thus we need to totally rethink and rebuild how we view work.
And this is anything but easy bc for almost 2000 years we first did view personal prowess and later working as some sort of salvation. Indeed one revolutionary thing of christianity was that the simple worker was held in such a high regard.
And second of all there is a simple truth regarding money: it always comes first and foremost to those who already have it.
And thus we also would need to remodel our monetary system to some degree.
But the average people always fear change unless it seems simple and controllable and thus anyone wanting to radically change society will likely not have a majority of votes anytime soon.
So we can expect this to carry on until there is no more choice (and maybe then some). But ultimately it depends on people voting for their own fair interests and not against them.
We all have the power to kick the Tories out next election.
And what pisses us off? We’re asked to come to work because we’re essential, the Office staff were told to stay home because they’re not essential, were given nearly full pay for a time, then WFH and all the while we all get a lovely tax raise, and Yet Furloughed, Non Essential and those at High Risk were all given benefits of being told to stay home and not travel, the Essential workers were all kept at risk of catching Covid nad spreading it among our families and we all get taxed the same
​
​
Honestly, Key Workers should have a reduce tax rate, those that were either furloughed or WFH should be paying more taxes, to cover their “Holidays” hell Office workers still want to keep their WFH or only work 4 days a week, and yet they’re shocked when I have such disdain for them.
Everyone who isn’t already rich is worse off than they used to be. We’ve had 10 years of dismantling everything while the Tories failed to stimulate the economy. They’re incompetent at running a country, they’re con artists and thieves.
GUYS GUYS PLEASE IGNORE THIS DRIVEL AND CARRY ON CLAPPING ON THURSDAYS
In the private sector, the “labour shortage” (which isn’t really a shortage but whatever) will enable workers to demand better pay and conditions.
That will then lead to it being impossible to staff public services, because they can earn twice as much stacking shelves or whatever, and so the public sector will be forced into improving them too, even if the government is not enlightened enough to do it proactively.
Ideally we would vote for a government that will do it proactively, but I wouldn’t bet on that happening at the next election, and the next election might not be for a while anyway.
So is everybody else.
I don’t know anyone who’s had above-interest raises every year.
Just out of interest did supermarket workers get downgraded from being essential during the pandemic back to being dogsbody status?