You will celebrate the monarchy

I don't know anyone who will scoff at the offer of an extra bank holiday, especially when it'll lengthen Whitsun weekend. After all, UK workers are at the bottom of the league when it comes to public holidays, with only 8 per year. The European average is 11, the USA has 13, as does Austria. In Wales, all four parties represented in the Assembly have been united in calling for St. David's Day to be made a public holiday. Of course, the Assembly doesn't have the power to make it happen, and Westminster has shown no appetite to legislate on our behalf. Yet they are more than happy to pass the legislation for this bank holiday.

The TUC have said that we should have an extra three annual public holidays to bring workers in the UK in line with their counterparts in the rest of Europe.

Free holidays are good, no matter what they are for. But it will be interesting to see how many people take part in the government organised "nationwide (sic) series of celebrations." Some groups are already gearing up to counter what will undoubtedly be an expensive, tax-payer funded, heavily promoted "celebration" of the monarchy.

Meanwhile, radio DJ Tom Binns was sacked from his job after referring to Mrs Windsor's Christmas day speech as "bor-ing", live on air. A facebook group has been set up calling for Birmingham based radio station BRBM to reinstate him, and for people to send complaints to OFCOM.

...you will not oppose the monarchy, you will celebrate the monarchy...

Blaming the Victims

I was disappointed with this article in today's Western Mail. It quotes Patrick Minford, Professor of Applied Economics at Cardiff Business School, blaming the unemployed for unemployment. “A lot of this has to do with the fact that they are in receipt of benefits so there is no pressure to look for work." It sounds too much like Norman Tebbit's "get-on-your-bike" to me.

This is characteristic of current thinking. I recently blogged on new proposals to force people to work for their incapacity benefits, proposals which have been described by Mark Serwotka as ‘regressive and draconian, going further than even Thatcher dared in the 1980s. Picking up litter to receive benefits will stigmatise people and do nothing to get people back into long-term sustainable employment.’ TUC General Secretary Barber has said: ‘People who lose their jobs want help in getting new skills and new paying jobs, not make-work schemes that provide no pay, no prospects and not even any time to search for a new job. Workfare policies do nothing to benefit wider society. And workers in low paid jobs could well be replaced by workfare claimants leading them to lose their jobs in turn.’

Does Professor Minford think that benefit levels are too high? Does he really think that people live the life of Reilly on benefits? Benefits are set at levels which only just enable people to avoid poverty. No more. Living on benefits is hard - everything has to be rationed - food, fuel, stuff for the kids. Of course people would be better off in well-paid work. But people are not stupid. We all make rational economic decisions. If the only jobs on offer are part time and/or poorly paid, then there's a good chance you'll be worse off working. What sensible, rational being would do that?

The answer is not to reduce benefits levels, or to force ill people to work. The answer is to raise wages. With New Labour ministers blaming immigrants, and now this attack on the unemployed, we can expect a lot more victim-blaming as the recession bites.

Minimum wage rise needs enforcement

The Welsh TUC has welcomed news that about 50,000 low-paid workers in Wales will benefit from next week's increase in the National Mininum Wage, which is going up to £5.73 per hour, from £5.52 (£3.53 from £3.40 for workers aged under 18). Its not surprising that Wales has a disproportionately high number of workers who will benefit from this rise. Of course, any increase in the minimum wage levels are to be welcomed. However, with fast rises in the cost of food and fuel, a 3.8% increase is not enough. The minimum wage is an important safety net to guarantee a basic income, but inequality will continue to grow unless the minimum wage levels are substantially increased. UNISON says that workers should get a minimum of £6.75, and that the practice of discriminating against younger workers should end. That would be a good start.

As I've reported previously there are only 8 minimum wage enforcement officers based in Cardiff to cover the whole of Wales. Firms who have been caught not paying have escaped prosecution. Not a great incentive to comply with the legislation! We need more enforcement officers and tough penalties for those employers caught breaking the law. Otherwise, bad employers will continue with bad practices and inequality will continue to grow.

(thanks to beauboD'Or for the picture)