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Fair pay, fair future.

This article was first published in the Bicester Advertiser on 15/2/24 with the title: "Fair pay and treatment for humans needed"


A decent wage for a hard day's work - it’s a simple ask. But it’s a goal which for many is further and further out of reach. From Brighton to Bicester, Ketering to Kidlington - the cost of living crisis continues to bite.


Eleven percent of all workers live in poverty, and from teachers, who are increasingly taking on second jobs to gig economy workers earning less than the minimum wage- as a nation we seem to have moved from ‘just about managing’ to holding on by our fingernails.


This is not just the usual ebb and flow of the economy. It is the result of over a decade of Tory mismanagement. Mismanagement that people in Bicester and Woodstock can little afford. And the Conservative government can’t just blame it on covid and Ukraine. Low growth and high inequality means typical households in Britain are 9 per cent poorer than our French counterparts.


It doesn’t have to be like this. Britain deserves better. When Labour came into power in 1997 we set up the minimum wage. At the time, nay-sayers warned it would damage the economy but growth powered on, and people felt richer. It’s hard to imagine not having a minimum wage now, but it was Labour’s determination to make work pay that made it happen.


As a sign of its commitment to making work pay, on the first day of this election year, 2024, Labour launched its New Deal for Working People. It is urgently needed. And it's good to see that employers like it too. From Iceland to Ecotricity, businesses are backing Labour. 


Labour’s plan includes an end to the shocking ‘fire and rehire practices’ that unscrupulous employers use to worsen working conditions. We’re also committed to raising the minimum wage to at least £10 for all workers. The current minimum wage for under 18-20 year olds is just £7.49. It seems at that age, you’re old enough to vote and raise a family but not to bring home a tenner an hour. I’m also glad to see plans for new compassionate rights - like bereavement leave- so we can all be humans as well as workers.


I hope in time Labour’s plan will also be a new deal to bring more people into work. As the mother of young children myself and until recently the carer for an elderly parent, I know many mums and carers who are priced out of the job market. 


The cost of childcare and the lack of social care for older dependents, means it's often cheaper to do unpaid caring at home than it is to take part in the economy. And it's often women who sacrifice the chance to build a career, faced with these economic realities.

We need the skills of everyone to grow our economy. We can't afford to price anyone out.


The Tories ‘trickle down’ economic model has turned out to be ‘trickle down and out’. In contrast, Labour will put working people at the heart of our economic plan. Those who help create our nation’s wealth, whether in the private sector or by keeping us healthy and educated through public services, deserve their fair share of it. Together we will turn things around. 

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