In a world where the very same bankers who sent our economic system into turmoil also receive million pound salaries, it is surprisingly easy to slip into a mindset of tacit acceptance. It is testament to the ingrained inequality in our society, that we stand by as the glue which holds our country together is paid less than enough to live on, whilst the blow torch that melts away the fabric of our communities rakes in all the cash.
It’s just the way it is. Sadly, a true righting of this imbalance probably is impossible under the capitalist conditions of the modern world. This just isn’t a fight we can ever win, at least not in the fullest sense.
However, we, and I speak for all those crusaders of equality, can win other battles. The Living Wage Campaign is one such battle. Though we may never see true social justice, we can keep on chipping away at the injustices of the free market system until we are left with something closer to equality. The Living Wage Campaign here at the University of Nottingham would be a fantastic step in the right direction.
“If the university was to start paying these employees the living wage, the yearly cost would be £550,000, that’s just a 2.5 per cent dent in the universities massive £22m surplus”
If you aren’t convinced, consider these frankly unacceptable truths about the way that pay is distributed at our university. According to a Unison article published in 2015 based on a 2013 Freedom of Information request, 569 staff at the university are paid less than the living wage. If the university was to start paying these employees the living wage, the yearly cost would be £550,000, that’s just a 2.5 per cent dent in the universities massive £22m surplus. Hardly a big price to pay for social justice. If that wasn’t enough, I wonder how the university plans to defend the fact that 19 more staff members have had their salary increased to over £100,000 at a cost of £16m.
They can afford to pay the Vice Chancellor £357,000 with bonuses, yet they claim they canot scrape together enough for 569 people to earn enough to live. Injustice, it seems, is the order of the day.
Universities have countless characteristics that define them as ideal ground zeroes for a move towards pay equality. With a community of forward thinking, open minded people, with an interest in the issues facing humankind, there are few places that are a better starting point for positive change. The prestige of many of these institutions, not least our beloved Nottingham, means that a fantastic precedent for progression has the potential to be formed.
“Universities have countless characteristics that define them as ideal ground zeroes for a move towards pay equality”
According to the Living Wage Foundation, it is optional currently for employers to pay a living wage, a figure they calculate to be at £8.25 per hour for the country – excluding London, where higher costs of living bumps that figure up to £9.40 per hour. At present, a part time catering role is advertised at the university, paying £7.65 per hour. It may not be a million miles from the living wage but this only emphasises the question; why can a university that brings in a huge surplus profit not afford it?
In April 2016, the government intends to introduce a national living wage, forcing companies to bring in a living wage which, incidentally, is not necessarily the same wage as calculated by the Living Wage Foundation. Not only will this compulsory living wage be set by the Conservatives, a party not exactly well renowned for fighting inequality, it will also be exclusively for over 25s.
I know I speak for many other students and staff at Nottingham when I say I want to be a part of an institution that doesn’t have to be forced by the Tories to pay their staff enough to live on. Clearly the motivation for such a change would be all wrong. Furthermore, it seems inevitable that the Tory policy will go hand in hand with cuts that will go at least some way to offset any progress a national living wage would make. As for the arbitrary cut off of 25, I implore a member of the Conservatives to explain to me why a 24-year-old is less entitled to a living wage than a 25-year-old.
“I want to be a part of an institution that doesn’t have to be forced by the Tories to pay their staff enough to live on”
I consider myself to be firmly planted in the centre left of the political spectrum. I don’t for one moment deny the pressures on small businesses to compete in an economy dominated by corporate giants. I don’t think anybody can reasonably argue that a small firm employing let’s say ten people, with a small turnover, making small profits should be forced to pay a wage that will result in that firm ceasing to exist. What is the result of such a policy? Ten people out of a job.
However, as a hugely wealthy institution, the University of Nottingham has a responsibility to be an example for others. The university can afford it and, as such, I believe it is crucial that the current campaign only grows in determination and veracity as we move closer to the introduction of a compulsory living wage. If we can set such a wage on our own rules, not on the grounds of a Tory policy that, let’s face it, is unlikely to materialise in the way it is dressed up to be, then it would be all the better. Let’s get real for a moment, it took a house of unelected lords to convince the Tories that cutting tax credits, something that would in most cases totally offset the living wage policy, was not acceptable. Does George Osborne really care about the poorest in society? I don’t think so.
This can only be a positive thing not only for the university as an institution of learning, but also from a business perspective. Moreover, the message we could send the country would be one of progression and justice for all. Support the Living Wage campaign today.
Edward Matthews
Image: Meraj Chhaya
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