‘Vatican sets the standard on pay’

THE pandemic has highlighted the unfairness in our society, especially economically.

So is it not time to seek ways of narrowing the income gaps between rich and poor and also those in between?

Like so many organisations, the Vatican has seen its finances deteriorate through the pandemic, but it is good to see what it is now doing for its staff.

Those at the top are to get pay cuts while only those at the bottom will receive a rise. Cardinals are to get a pay cut of 10 per cent, while many lower paid will be subject to a freeze.

However, the lay workers at the bottom of the scale will get a pay rise.

Now wouldn’t it be good to see all organisations and the Government follow that example ?

In our NHS for example, no pay rise for highly paid consultants but a good rise for lower-paid nurses and hospital porters and cleaners.

Now is also the time to switch from percentage rises to actual amounts of rise.

For decades the percentage is one factor that has caused the gap between earnings to widen.

If person A earns £70,000 and person B earns £25,000 and each gets a three per cent rise that is often considered fair.

Yet person A gets a rise of £2,100, while B gets a rise of only £750. Over a five-year period, A gets an £11,149 rise and B gets a £3,982 rise.

Even allowing for inflation this is unfair and in any case lower-paid workers spend proportionately more on essentials than higher-paid workers.

NIGEL JONES NEWCASTLE