Chibuku Living Wage Party

[Will - chibuku]

Chibuku is teaming up with the Citizens Organising Foundation of east London this Friday 22nd July to help promote the Living Wage Campaign. COF are fighting for a Living Wage of at least £6.70 an hour for the 400,000 workers presently paid poverty wages below this amount! For more information please contact:

Citizen Organising Foundation & London Citizens
112 Cavell Street
London
E1 2JA

Tel 020 7 375 1658
Fax 020 7 375 2034
Email neil.jameson@cof.org.uk



CHIBUKU SHAKE SHAKE &
CITIZENS ORGANISING FOUNDATION present...

LONDON CITIZENS - Living Wage Party and Celebration!

Friday July 22nd

The Beat Monkeys
The Duke
Hip Hop Generation presents MCs - Xtremists; Ayak; Baby Blu; Shortman.
DJ Hektic and MC Tappa.

8pm to 2am @ The Spitz Club
Spitalfields Old Market, 109, Commercial Street, E1 (close to Liverpool Street Station and Aldgate East).
Entry: FREE - although donations welcome
Please say that you are with Chibuku when you arrive at the entrance.
Food served at 8.15pm and 10pm. Presentations and Awards 9.30pm.

[Psychosomatic]

As in, basically raise the minimin wage to 6.70? I'm down with that!!!

[Kieran]

For fear of offending, I wont post my comment in here.

[nt]

For fear of offending, I wont post my comment in here.

Go on...

[Kieran]

I think it's a great idea that people should get paid a higher minimum wage, but at the expense of what?!!

For those people that have worked they way up to earn over that amount presently, will they be paying more tax to fund this increase in MW? I fear so, where else can the money come from?

Im not suggesting there arent people who earn below that amount that dont work hard or deserve a higher wage, but it's discriminating against those that have already taken steps to earn more. And lets not be naive to the fact that there are a lot of peopkle out there amongst that 400,000 that dont work hard at all, because they are lazy, and will be reaping the rewards of an all too soft political and social system that this country is currently finiding itself immersed in.

People should reap what they sow

[Kieran]

Dont get me wrong though, fair play to chibuku, every idea has to be heard for people to make their own judgements on them, and this is a good way of highlighting their cause im sure.

Lets hope people can see both sides of the story!

[Psychosomatic]

It was to my understanding that the companies would have to simply play their employees more money from the profit turnovers. Rather than the government and taxation having anything to do with matters. Personally, I believe companies make far too much profit anyway and it seems only justifiable to me that they should be forced to give the people that work for them a larger slice of the cake.

I also feel quite strongly that I'm being exploited being paid 4.50 p/h when the company I work for makes pure profits worth millions of sterling per annum. With respect to financial gain based upon a meritocrisy then actually I think its a poor way to run things anyway. For example, if a person desires to be a doctor, I'd rather have them treating me because they have a passion to treat people rather than a desire for money.

With regards to the increase in the minimun wage then 6.70 p/h is still a long way from a professionals wage, if not then they should have a wage increase to. As far as I see it at the moment, workers are still being exploited. Not to mention soon even the middle-classes and upper-classes are facing much lower job security...

[nt]

I think though that more people will just be paid the same, but under the counter.

Companies just won't be bothered doing it, so will either have people working illegally, or work other people harder.

[Kieran]

It was to my understanding that the companies would have to simply play their employees more money from the profit turnovers. Rather than the government and taxation having anything to do with matters. Personally, I believe companies make far too much profit anyway and it seems only justifiable to me that they should be forced to give the people that work for them a larger slice of the cake.

I also feel quite strongly that I'm being exploited being paid 4.50 p/h when the company I work for makes pure profits worth millions of sterling per annum. With respect to financial gain based upon a meritocrisy then actually I think its a poor way to run things anyway. For example, if a person desires to be a doctor, I'd rather have them treating me because they have a passion to treat people rather than a desire for money.

With regards to the increase in the minimun wage then 6.70 p/h is still a long way from a professionals wage, if not then they should have a wage increase to. As far as I see it at the moment, workers are still being exploited. Not to mention soon even the middle-classes and upper-classes are facing much lower job security...Thats true buddy, but in reality, if a company has to raise it's wage bill by 30%, it will look to employ illegal immigrants instead.

The reality is that the only way it would work is by the government paying subsidies.


..and in doing so, cost the other 35,000,000 working people money, not the massive companies

[Psychosomatic]

In reality you are indeed correct.

Bring on the revolution I say.

[Psychosomatic]

PS on a lighter note, what dates will you and emma be in Ibiza? I'm flying out on the 30th of Augest thus will be looking forward to absoloute session!

[Will - chibuku]

Interesting...I'll get in touch with Neil Jameson who is director of the Citizens Organising Foundation and see what he can add to this

[Kieran]

He's probably not got time Will,

He's busy getting overtime in to make up for his £4.50 an hour cleaning job :lol:

Only Joking Neil, It's a noble cause. :)

[Will - chibuku]

Got this from COF's website..


The Living Wage campaign has had two significant boosts recently.

After two years of intense pressure on HSBC to raise the wages and benefits of cleaning staff at the bank's Canary Wharf tower, they finally gave in. On 14th May 2004 a press release was issued with details of an excellent new employment package for the staff.

Night staff will get £7.10 per hour; day staff will get up to £6.40 per hour, with eight extra paid holidays; 10 days of paid sick leave and a pension. This package will help to set a much higher standard for cleaning contracts in the UK's financial services sector.

A number of factors have led to this important result.

The TGWU recently began organising and recruiting staff in Canary Wharf; the Wharf newspaper has given the campaign relentless coverage; and TELCO's leaders have shown real persistence and imagination in their campaign.

The hero of the Canary Wharf Living Wage campaign, Abdul Durrant, attended the bank's AGM on Friday 28th May 2004 to make a statement welcoming the bank's decision and inviting the chairman, Sir John Bond, to spread this good practice across all of HSBC's branches UK-wide.

The campaign also got a boost at the Accountability Assembly on 4th May, with all the candidates committing to a Living Wage Unit at City Hall, and to Living Wage as a standard in contracts awarded by the Greater London Authority bodies.

Members are keen to see the Living Wage hospital campaign extended to new areas of London.

We are re-energising our Living Wage campaign team to help oversee our actions on various fronts and would lovew to welcome new members to the campaign.

If you have any enquiries please contact Catherine Howarth
Tel: 020 7375 1658

Steering Committee
Co Chairs:
Deborah Littman (UNISON)
Paul Regan (Aston Mansfield Charities, Newham)
Organiser:
Catherine Howarth

[Kieran]

Ross, we're going out on the 25th, going back 31st, though I may get a later flight as i have the next 4 days off work already. Emma has to be back on the 31st though, so maybe I wont leave her go back alone?!

[Psychosomatic]

Cool man, I arrive on the 30th and leave on the 12th of september so will definitely run into at some point. I'm off to croatia in a couple of weeks, really looking forward to that. Fly back to Stansted and going to visit my mate in woking :lol: Then back to liverpool to fly out to ibiza with easyjet. Flying back to coventry from ibiza, flights should cost me around 60 quid in total! Cant wait!!!

[DJ Nik Laas]

It was to my understanding that the companies would have to simply play their employees more money from the profit turnovers. Rather than the government and taxation having anything to do with matters. Personally, I believe companies make far too much profit anyway and it seems only justifiable to me that they should be forced to give the people that work for them a larger slice of the cake.

I also feel quite strongly that I'm being exploited being paid 4.50 p/h when the company I work for makes pure profits worth millions of sterling per annum. With respect to financial gain based upon a meritocrisy then actually I think its a poor way to run things anyway. For example, if a person desires to be a doctor, I'd rather have them treating me because they have a passion to treat people rather than a desire for money.

With regards to the increase in the minimun wage then 6.70 p/h is still a long way from a professionals wage, if not then they should have a wage increase to. As far as I see it at the moment, workers are still being exploited. Not to mention soon even the middle-classes and upper-classes are facing much lower job security...Thats true buddy, but in reality, if a company has to raise it's wage bill by 30%, it will look to employ illegal immigrants instead.

The reality is that the only way it would work is by the government paying subsidies.


..and in doing so, cost the other 35,000,000 working people money, not the massive companies

interesting debate...

not sure where i stand on this - yes, people should be paid a wage that allows them to live above the poverty line - we live in the 4th richest economy in the world, no one should have to suffer and struggle.

however, thinking with my business head on - as kieran says, if the minimum wage continues to rise to an unsustainable level, small companies will go out of business or have to cut staff or indeed use the cheap labour market - and the big companies will continue to outsource the processing / operational elements of their to places like india and china where labour is plentiful, cheap and ultra hardworking. :roll:

[EL HEFE]

Is this just in London or what? Can't belive there aren't more than 400,000 people earning less than £6.40.

Could do with that much myself!