Tax dodging companies exploit British workers.

Unions such as GMB are campaigning for a living wage of £8.55 an hour in London and £7.45 outside the capital. A staggering one in five workers in the UK receives less than the living wage. That is nearly 5 million people. Yes, 5 million 'strivers'. This is slave labour.

A living wage is simply a rate of pay that enables a basic standard of living. Any civilised society should aspire to achieving it. If the government believes in markets then let's stop subsidising companies who pay low wages. We should insist that all companies should pay a living wage; it should be the minimum entry point for any worker. Not only would this be fair, a decent wage for work done, but it would also cut public spending on welfare. It would enable people to make a difference to their lives and the lives of their families; it would provide dignity and respect for the work they do.

It is a disgrace that tax dodging companies like Starbucks exploit not only their workforce but also the British taxpayer. It is no surprise that Starbucks refuses to recognise union representation for its workforce. Companies like Starbucks are the real scroungers the government should be targeting and attacking with their stigmatising rhetoric.

Follow @Ray_Noble1

Comments

Prioritising people in nursing care.

There has been in recent years concern that care in the NHS has not been sufficiently 'patient centred', or responsive to the needs of the patient on a case basis. It has been felt in care that it as been the patient who has had to adapt to the regime of care, rather than the other way around. Putting patients at the centre of care means being responsive to their needs and supporting them through the process of health care delivery. Patients should not become identikit sausages in a production line. The nurses body, the Nursing and Midwifery Council has responded to this challenge with a revised code of practice reflection get changes in health and social care since the previous code was published in 2008. The Code describes the professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses and midwives. Four themes describe what nurses and midwives are expected to do: prioritise people practise effectively preserve safety, and promote professionalism and trust. The

Half measures on heat pumps

Through the "Heat and Buildings Strategy", the UK government has set out its plan to incentivise people to install low-carbon heating systems in what it calls a simple, fair, and cheap way as they come to replace their old boilers over the coming decade. New grants of £5,000 will be available from April next year to encourage homeowners to install more efficient, low carbon heating systems – like heat pumps that do not emit carbon when used – through a new £450 million 3-year Boiler Upgrade Scheme. However, it has been widely criticised as inadequate and a strategy without a strategy. Essentially, it will benefit those who can afford more readily to replace their boiler. Undoubtedly, the grants will be welcome to those who plan to replace their boilers in the next three years, and it might encourage others to do so, but for too many households, it leaves them between a rock and a hard place. There are no plans to phase out gas boilers in existing homes. Yet, that is wha

Ian Duncan-Smith says he wants to make those on benefits 'better people'!

By any account, the government's austerity strategy is utilitarian. It justifies its approach by the presumed potential ends. It's objective is to cut the deficit, but it has also adopted another objective which is specifically targeted. It seeks to drive people off benefits and 'back to work'. The two together are toxic to the poorest in society. Those least able to cope are the most affected by the cuts in benefits and the loss of services. It is the coupling of these two strategic aims that make their policies ethically questionable. For, by combining the two, slashing the value of benefits to make budget savings while also changing the benefits system, the highest burden falls on a specific group, those dependent on benefits. For the greater good of the majority, a minority group, those on benefits, are being sacrificed; sacrificed on the altar of austerity. And they are being sacrificed in part so that others may be spared. Utilitarian ethics considers the ba

The Thin End

Search This Blog