[DP]

£6.70 per hour minimum wage in London and right now for cleaners.

Allied to the principle public protest to Morgan Stanley in London today by cleaners for £6.70ph , Ken Livingstone not only stated on public TV that they were receiving his full support, he also stated that those attached to contracts under his control WOULD receive this amount (thereby leading the way).

Ok I guess from the title you can figure out my view, So what’s yours!!!!!    No arguments, just opinions please.

[martin19842]

hi there,

hourly rates in the congestion zone are as low now as they have ever been. £5.00 an hour, and some cleaners are on even less, yes i know thats not really possible. 

some are paying £5.50 an hour.

£6.70 an hour, the big boys will be issuing notice to quit their contracts, and then renegotiating.

so in then end who will pay??

so i supppose we will all wait and see

regards

martin

[The Great One]

Hi

When this min wage thing started and has kept growing, they were on TV saying that no ill effects are being felt.

So far...

I feel it will only be a matter of time before the pinch will be felt by companies and small businesses. Costs will go up, prices will go up and yes taxes will have to go up to fund it.

Sadly a fact that only time will tell.

Regards

Martin

[Fox]

Must say I agree with the title of this thread - defo looney tune!

How long before everyone else jumps on the band wagon?  Interesting that this is targeted at cleaners, is this because Livingstone 'thinks' that cleaners are at the lowest point of the employment chain?  If so he hasn't done much research!

I don't think this will be passed, it is to way out.

Fox

[Ian Gourlay]

I beleive Kens mum was a cleaner.

The cost of living is high.
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At present you are all subsidising lower wages through the tax system.

As low paid workers have to claim Housing Benifit in order to afford to have somewhere to live.

Before Min wage came out I know of employers who paid low in order that workers could maximise  Family Credit and Housing Benifit claim.

Congestion charge personally I think there should be a discount for companies who have to bring vans in to congestion zone to do essential work.

Everyone else should get on Tube.

We are ment to care about Air polution Indoor Air Quality etc.

or is that just talk.

[Tim Downer]

Yes i agree with a lot of what you are all saying.....However, surely if we as cleaning companies have to increase the price of our contracts to accomodate the staff wage increases, then our customers surely will continue to put our invoices agaist their Tax Bill and pay slightly less Tax and the extra VAT charged comes off their VAT bill....and is this not to their advantage?
Thats how i thought it worked!!
(or have i got it all wrong again?)

Regards

Tim

I am assuming that if you have to increase the wage of your staff because of what the Government wish to do, then surely any info regarding this or a covering letter to the client explaining the increase would be in order?

[Ian Gourlay]

 I cannot see a merchant bank cutting back on cleaning.

The type of contract that might be at risk is a Cheap Skate convience store who perhaps has floor cleaned twice a week cut back to once a week or get the Manager to do it after covering place 5am to 10pm 7 days a week.

And in truth although his contract might only be 40 hrs a week working much more to cover for staff shortages etc etc

But these firms should be investigated and shut down anyway.

As they make their profits by explotation and bullying.

[Jan K]

If this applies to dom cleaners too I can se alot of dom cleaning business going down the tube (and not the one you get around London in either). Down here a minimum wage of £6.70 would be totally unrealistic, not only would dom cleaning business be out of pocket, so would many other businesses. Although having said that everyone would be forced to put their prices up across the board, so it may work. 

Looking at it from a person on benefits (WFTC, HB, CTC) point of view, it is just another way of paying less benefits to those who want to work, but can only do a few hours a week (such as single mums or dads), and penalising us smaller businesses who are TRYING to work and offer work to others. It's the government's way of saving yet more money and making us pay for it!!

Or maybe I have got that completely wrong.......I ain't no politician (thank god), but i know how the benefits systems work (badly)

[Ian Gourlay]

Jan k IN Oct the minimum wage will be in the region of £5.10 do you think this is too much.

I would be interested what DP thinks who has never been brave enough to tell us his name

Why should a family pulling in 60 k a year get their house cleaned for low money.

Whats so special about them that they should be waited on at little cost?

[DP]

Hi

I would be interested what DP thinks

I completely agree with the minimum wage and believe that it probably should be higher than it will be. However ONLY in a controlled manor which should continue to be introduced by legislation and not somebody on a soap box looking for a quick popularity boost using soft targets.

Legislation will allow all employer's to remain on an even keel and maintain stability within each industry and within national economics.

Livingstone's (so called) pioneering antic's achieve nothing but chaos and de-stabilisation and in this case probably help to make illegal and under paid employment look even more attractive to the unscrupulous or struggling employer.

Im afraid the "UP THE WORKER " tactics simply don’t work, as the unions found out when companies collapsed  across the country faster then concord in the last recession.

Why should a family pulling in 60 k a year get their house cleaned for low money.

My comment to this is "Why not"? Or would you imply that because someone has been successful perhaps through having a good education or simple hard work, that they should be penalised.

Why should a clients income have anything to do with what a service provider charges? Why should they be treated any different?

DP thinks who has never been brave enough to tell us his name

Loosely translated "I WANT TO KNOW DP's REAL NAME" (I will take the comment of "brave" as the carrot).

This one is easy "Because that’s my choice" there are people on here that do know and I know theirs, and I respect their decision on the matter. In business it simply doesn’t pay to announce your plans- actions-activities to your competitors or anyone else come to think of it, unless you can conduct your business that way.

We all have bathroom door's don’t we "Why?" its called privacy something we all require to some degree, even you Ian 

[Jan K]

Ian yes I am fully aware that the min wage is going up to £5.10 in October and I have heard that it is going up to £5.35 in April of next year, and I am quite prepared for paying this, as I pay my girls £6.00 per hour. BUT I only charge my (newer) Clients £9.00 per hour (although some of my long standing ones are still only paying £7.50 and if you had read previous posts of mine, the majority kicked up a fuss about this). A minimum wage of £6.70 (down here) would put a lot of small businesses out of work. Wages aren't very good (the average wage for a cleaner is the minimum down here) which is why I pay £6.00, and I STILL struggle to get staff. Yea I would love to pay my staff £6.70, but I would then have to put my charges up to £10 or £11 per hour at least and peeps would be very unsure about paying it.

However as I said if we all had to increase our prices then maybe it wouldn't be so bad. And yet on the other hand, if the people who are able to afford cleaners at prices now didn't have pay rises alongside the minimum wage incrwease and us small business price increases then who would be the first casualty on our Clients lists.........yes the Cleaners, so like I said we would go down the pan!! (If you can undestand that you are a better person than me, as I am typing in a hurry in case I burn the tea......whats that awdful smell??? )