‽istis reclaims pay and re-balanced sheets (weekending July
30th 2022)
· rail strikes continued[i]
· the possibility of a general strike is mooted[ii]
· the right to strike is debated[iii] whilst the Government seems to be considering further legislation to curb the possibility of industrial action
· 42% of people receiving Universal Credit were in employment[iv]
· in May ‘annual pay growth stalled at 4%...' leaving most workers with a rise in earnings worth less than half the 9% increase in prices’[v]
· ‘British Gas owner Centrica has seen its profits increase by five-fold… The company’s operating profits in the six months to the end of June came to £1.34billion amid a rampant rise in the cost of living.’ – and - ‘Meanwhile Shell has reported record profits of £9.4billion, having doubled them in a single year.’[vi]
So, with customary naïvety ‽istis wonders about the balance between
the pay, remuneration, bonus and financial ‘packages’ of the owners of the
means of production, the shareholders and senior staff at the top of the food
chain (sorry, managerial hierarchy) - v – the wage packets of those who are the
producers of goods and servicers of the means of production, who are the direct providers of services.
What if there were no need to balance or re-balance the books
because pay scales and structures recognised the systemic co-dependence of all
roles in an organisation from boardroom to factory floor, from CEO and CFO to
catering staff, cleaners and security personnel, from those who make the goods
and deliver the services to those who manage operations to those who manage
strategy? If all are vital, then just how can vast pay differentials be
justified?
‽istis wonders whether a little thought experiment might
highlight an even more radical approach to thinking about value and who might
be paid what in an organisation, and the relative grades and layers below:
Try asking: ‘if ‘x’ did not turn up today / if this role were not performed today or even right now – how quickly would the functioning, the very viability, the actual day-to-day business of a business or organisation, a school, a hospital, a police station, a shop, a factory, a fulfilment centre, the Houses of Parliament, be affected?
Imagine doors locked, filthy toilets, empty canteens and
cafeterias; un-emptied bedpans and un-made beds in hospitals and residential
homes, un-nursed patients, uncleaned wards and operating theatres; un-taught
and supported children and young people; tech equipment failing, phones and
emergency contact lines unanswered; letters and emails and contracts and orders
untyped, unsent, unprocessed; deliveries not made; ambulances not driven,
vehicles not maintained, trains not driven, rail lines not mended, baggage-unhandled, planes
grounded; hotel laundry and pots and pans and cutlery unwashed; cones not put out on the nation’s roads, power
and communication lines failing, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc…
And perhaps the wage-salary-pay-grade-and-other-benefits-and-total-emoluments tables might be turned‽ Possibly the last shall be first‽ Maybe the workers will be united…‽ And then, from the daydream, ‽istis (picking up from last week’s theme) woke up!
PS: thinking about practical strategies that could perhaps, possibly maybe 'level up' - especially for those who believe in 'low taxes, small state and personal responsibility' - how about no bonuses and no share dividend while any employee is also having to claim benefits‽
©
Pistis
NB: further reflections and comments linked to this week’s theme
and past blog entries to be found on Twitter: replies, retweets (which don’t
necessarily indicate approval, sometimes the very opposite!) and ‘likes’:
@Pistis_wonders. ‘Follows’ and respectful comment and dialogue welcome...
[i] https://news.sky.com/story/rail-strikes-disruptions-for-travellers-with-only-one-in-five-trains-likely-to-run-12659779
[ii] https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/27/train-drivers-vote-for-fresh-strikes-as-disruptions-hit-britains-rail-network
[iv][iv]
The number of people on Universal Credit in employment has remained at around
2.3 million since 10 December 2020. The employment rate has increased for all people
on Universal Credit to 42% on 9 December 2021 from 39% on 10 December 2020 as
the total number of people on Universal Credit has decreased. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-statistics-29-april-2013-to-13-january-2022/universal-credit-statistics-29-april-2013-to-13-january-2022#:~:text=The%20number%20of%20people%20on%20Universal%20Credit%20in%20employment%20has,on%20Universal%20Credit%20has%20decreased.
