From the frontline ..to the breadline
Lockdown applause won’t help pay bills
Thousands of key workers who kept the country going during the pandemic now face having to live in poverty because of the cost of living crisis.
Many frontline staff who were applauded on doorsteps across the land are now on the breadline, according to a study by the GMB.
The union said a proposed two per cent pay rise for carers, refuse collectors and school staff is far below the inflation rate and is not enough to cover huge hikes in the price of food, energy and fuel.
GMB research shows 51.4 per cent of Scotland’s 200,000 council workers now earn less than £25,000 a year for a 37-hour week.
Tens of thousands have fallen below £19,000 a year, bringing them i nto the of f icial poverty bracket.
The Su nda y Mai l spoke to a school cleaning supervisor who tel ls us she is barely surviving on earnings of around £15,000 a year.
And a refuse collector tells us he struggles to heat his home and feed his four children on his £18,000 salary.
The GMB probe found Glasgow had 14,484 council workers earning under £ 25,000, with 15,108 in Edinburgh, 2832 in Aberdeen, 7187 in South Lanarkshire, 2820 in West Dunbartonshire and 3531 in West Lothian.
In Glasgow, the vast
The offer won’t amount to more than a tenner a week
majority of those earning less than £25,000 – 11,075 – are women.
GMB Scotland senior organiser Keir Greenaway said: “The biggest cost-of-living crisis in over 30 years could turn into a catastrophe for tens of thousands of low- paid workers in local government.
“The two per cent pay increase on the table from council bosses won’t amount to more than a tenner a week for the likes of school cleaners and caterers, cleansing workers, and home carers.
“Key workers are already feeling the pain and with the prospect of further increases to already eyewatering energy costs when we head into the cold winter months, more
and more workers will go from the frontline to below the breadline.
“That’s an appalling prospect and one GMB won’t leave unchallenged.”
The union said members have rejected the two per cent offer, made by councils via their umbrella group Cosla, and are prepared to take strike action.
The Chartered Institute of Personal Development (CIPD) said a person is living in poverty when their income, after housing costs, is less than 60 per cent of the national average salary, currently £ 31,400.
The GMB estimates about 50,000 council workers in Scotland live below the £18,800 a year threshold and many workers in the private sector face similar challenges.
We told in February how some Asda staff could no longer afford to shop at their own stores because of the soaring cost of living, a situation only addressed by Asda last week.
Neil Cowan of the Poverty Alliance, which helps f irms to become Living Wage employers, said: “Politicians say work is a route out of poverty but that’s only true if it provides an income that meets the real needs of households.
“Every person working in Scotland deserves an income that keeps them and their households above the rising tide of poverty.”
Scottish Labour’s Mark Griffin said: “The same workers that kept us going through the pandemic are being forced to pay the price for the cuts to councils. We applauded them but they don’t need our plaudits – they need a fair pay deal.”
Peter Barrett of the Scottish Lib Dems called on ministers to “step up and fully fund a fair pay increase”.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: “We are not involved in local government pay negotiations. Pay settlements for council workers – excluding teachers – are a matter for Cosla.”
Cosla said: “We remain in ongoing discussions with our trade union colleagues in relation to pay.”
Creel fisherman Kenny Campbell believes he may have to sell his boat next year if restrictions go ahead again as planned.
The married 47-year-old catches crab and lobster in pots off the coast of his Campbeltown home but has been left without work for almost three months.
He said: “I started fishing when I was 16 years old, the day I left school. My father was a fisherman in Campbeltown and my grandfather was a fisherman too.
“We were gobsmacked when this complete ban was suddenly enforced without any real discussion.
“The attitude seemed to be that it wasn’t for long and we should just accept it but I wonder how the people making the decisions would feel if it was their income getting cut for almost three months.
“This is a great Scottish industry. We have some of the best seafood in the world and fishing helps keep communities alive with something people have been doing for centuries.
“It feels like the Government would prefer the Highlands and Islands to become places to retire or rent out Airbnbs rather than somewhere real people live and work.”
Kenny Ken fishes alone from his small 30ft boat wwith creels but believes many other fishe fishermen using trawler nets and other tech techniques are also causing little harm to ccod.
He H added: “Nobody here is fishing for cod and the nets used these days have hav escape holes for the bigger fish.
“OOf course we don’t want to dam damage breeding grounds and we
have been supportive of some restrictions in certain areas in the past but this has gone way too far.
“Nobody talks about the fact the water is warmer now than it was 40 or 50 years ago but I suspect that is the real reason the cod have moved to colder water in the north.
“I would be surprised if they ever return to the Clyde in great numbers but it feels like a small number of fishermen are being blamed.
“The ban this year has been devastating. I have had sleepless nights. I have bills to pay like everyone else and it is a big problem if you can’t earn money.
“If the ban in 2023 goes ahead, and at the moment the word is that it will go ahead, then I think I will have to think seriously of selling the boat.
“The fishing is best in summer but February, March“and April are still essential mtomake a living.”