Should BBC pay male and female stars equally?
SAMIRA AHMED has won her employment tribunal case that she was underpaid by £700,000 for hosting audience feedback show Newswatch compared with Jeremy Vine’s salary for Points Of View. It is right that there should be parity for men and women doing similar jobs, but instead of increasing the female staff’s salaries, the males’ pay should be cut to match.
BRIAN COLLINS, Plymouth, Devon.
HOW do you ascertain who is doing the same work? Is the same job title enough? Can you not be paid extra for being better at the job than others? Does experience not count for anything? The equal pay ruling could mean there will be no point other than pride in doing your best in a job.
DAVID WHITE, Basingstoke, Hants.
JEREMY VINE is the better-known presenter. He is in the entertainment business, as are actors and Premier League footballers. We do not expect them all to be paid the same; we expect them to be paid according to how good they are.
MIKE HORGAN, Heswall, Wirral.
WHEN I was an employee, I would change jobs to increase my income. I relied on the market to determine my monetary worth. I would not whinge or threaten my employer with court proceedings. I applied the same doctrine when I was an employer and all my staff understood this. I despair when the courts find in favour of well-paid, subversive professional employees.
MICHAEL PRITCHARD, Penn, Bucks.
THERE was no necessity for Samira Ahmed to accept £465 for each episode of Newswatch if she didn’t considerate it to be commensurate with the work involved.
JEFF HARMAN, Redditch, Worcs.
HOUSEHOLD name Jeremy Vine has the ability and personality to present a wide range of programmes. Surely flexibility, popularity and personality has to have an influence on salary paid.
CHERRY WILDE, Hucknall, Notts.
FOR years, people have said BBC ‘celebrities’ are overpaid. Now a tribunal has adjudicated on it.
Name and address supplied.
JEREMY VINE’S ‘charisma’ and ‘star power’ make Eggheads unwatchable for me.
A. J. SMITH, Exeter, Devon.