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Working for the minimum wage: our readers respond Working for the minimum wage: our readers respond
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This week, Ed Miliband pledged to link minimum pay to average hourly earnings, and explained his decision to tackle the minimum wage on Radio 4's Today programme: "This gets at a terrible scandal in this country of five million in low-paid work unable to make ends meet. We have got to tackle it and I just don't think we can carry on as we are."This week, Ed Miliband pledged to link minimum pay to average hourly earnings, and explained his decision to tackle the minimum wage on Radio 4's Today programme: "This gets at a terrible scandal in this country of five million in low-paid work unable to make ends meet. We have got to tackle it and I just don't think we can carry on as we are."
We asked you for your experiences of working for the minimum wage. Here are a selection of the responses:We asked you for your experiences of working for the minimum wage. Here are a selection of the responses:
Amad: 'The indignity involved is the worst part'Amad: 'The indignity involved is the worst part'
I am soon to leave minimum paid work and start a professional career. But I have put up with the minimum wage for the past six years because I know exactly how valuable I am to the countless people who need my help in filling out forms, applications and supporting others.I am soon to leave minimum paid work and start a professional career. But I have put up with the minimum wage for the past six years because I know exactly how valuable I am to the countless people who need my help in filling out forms, applications and supporting others.
I work with a guy who clocks 70 hours a week during his holidays. I joke with the man with the young child who works two minimum wage jobs, 18 hours a day, grinding himself down for a baby he can't afford to spend time with. People are on minimum wage for a plethora of reasons, all of which they are well aware of.I work with a guy who clocks 70 hours a week during his holidays. I joke with the man with the young child who works two minimum wage jobs, 18 hours a day, grinding himself down for a baby he can't afford to spend time with. People are on minimum wage for a plethora of reasons, all of which they are well aware of.
But it's the indignity of waiting to round your shift off to the next quarterly hour or lose out on £2; it's the shame of not helping a homeless man buy his train ticket, because then that 12-hour double shift would be fruitless. Breaks are not breaks, they are allocated times in which we are allowed to be human, to smoke a cigarette, to wolf down a dry sandwich that at £1.25 feels expensive, to use the bathroom and still be scolded for being three minutes late. A minimum wage life is a minimal existence, where the muscles in your legs are stretched for pennies – pennies we are asked to be grateful for.But it's the indignity of waiting to round your shift off to the next quarterly hour or lose out on £2; it's the shame of not helping a homeless man buy his train ticket, because then that 12-hour double shift would be fruitless. Breaks are not breaks, they are allocated times in which we are allowed to be human, to smoke a cigarette, to wolf down a dry sandwich that at £1.25 feels expensive, to use the bathroom and still be scolded for being three minutes late. A minimum wage life is a minimal existence, where the muscles in your legs are stretched for pennies – pennies we are asked to be grateful for.
Kate: 'I often struggle to make ends meet'Kate: 'I often struggle to make ends meet'
I have been on the minimum wage for three-and-a-half years, and I have two children aged nine and 11. Their father committed adultery two years ago and left us without much income. The wage I am on is poor, and as general bills and food goods only ever rise in prise my wage never increases enough and I often struggle to make ends meet, meaning no room at all for the cinema or days out. Even in school holidays I normally have to rely on my mother to childmind so I don't lose out on wages. I work school hours as I can't afford after-school clubs.I have been on the minimum wage for three-and-a-half years, and I have two children aged nine and 11. Their father committed adultery two years ago and left us without much income. The wage I am on is poor, and as general bills and food goods only ever rise in prise my wage never increases enough and I often struggle to make ends meet, meaning no room at all for the cinema or days out. Even in school holidays I normally have to rely on my mother to childmind so I don't lose out on wages. I work school hours as I can't afford after-school clubs.
I would like to see the minimum wage increase more often, and possibly more depending on age. I am 39 and work very hard at my job, but we are all on the same wage and other workers do not have the expertise and experience I have. I don't feel like I am appreciated, and my workplace says it cannot afford higher wages.I would like to see the minimum wage increase more often, and possibly more depending on age. I am 39 and work very hard at my job, but we are all on the same wage and other workers do not have the expertise and experience I have. I don't feel like I am appreciated, and my workplace says it cannot afford higher wages.
Toni: 'I just feel I am being left behind in general'Toni: 'I just feel I am being left behind in general'
I am only employed 18 hours a week. I bring £600 a month home and attempts over the past year at finding a second or a better paid job have been fruitless. I am well educated but doing a low-skilled repetitive job that has a high staff turnover because it is stressful to do for so little in return.I am only employed 18 hours a week. I bring £600 a month home and attempts over the past year at finding a second or a better paid job have been fruitless. I am well educated but doing a low-skilled repetitive job that has a high staff turnover because it is stressful to do for so little in return.
It is very clear from government statistics on unemployment and the small number of vacancies available that there are just not enough jobs to go around. I do not have children and cannot see a future with them, as raising a family on my current means would be nothing short of hell for everyone involved.It is very clear from government statistics on unemployment and the small number of vacancies available that there are just not enough jobs to go around. I do not have children and cannot see a future with them, as raising a family on my current means would be nothing short of hell for everyone involved.
I live in a shared five-bed house for £255 a month. Bills are about £100 a month. The rest of my money goes on food and I try to keep a little aside just as a buffer as I hate being overdrawn. I don't go on nights out and my only weakness is chocolate, which I have tried to cut down for health and money reasons.I live in a shared five-bed house for £255 a month. Bills are about £100 a month. The rest of my money goes on food and I try to keep a little aside just as a buffer as I hate being overdrawn. I don't go on nights out and my only weakness is chocolate, which I have tried to cut down for health and money reasons.
It is very disheartening knowing I will never be able to afford long holidays, to rent or to own a nice place. I just feel I am being left behind in general. Living this way after university has taken a huge toll on my physical and mental health. Being on my feet all day has left me with ankle and back problems. I have been on antidepressants for four months as I have had trouble with mood swings and sleeping at night. I feel I have a lot to offer employers as I am astute, hard working and put effort into everything I do.It is very disheartening knowing I will never be able to afford long holidays, to rent or to own a nice place. I just feel I am being left behind in general. Living this way after university has taken a huge toll on my physical and mental health. Being on my feet all day has left me with ankle and back problems. I have been on antidepressants for four months as I have had trouble with mood swings and sleeping at night. I feel I have a lot to offer employers as I am astute, hard working and put effort into everything I do.
Martin: 'I can't afford a one-room flat in the cheapest area'Martin: 'I can't afford a one-room flat in the cheapest area'
After getting on my bike in 1992 and moving to Holland, where I worked for 18-and-a-half years, I returned to the town of my birth in 2011. In Holland I was earning about €40,000 a year in an aluminium factory. I can't earn a third of that here – barely even a quarter. On my return I was refused jobseeker's allowance for not being habitually resident, despite meeting all their own criteria (British bank account, registered with a GP, ties to the local area, etc).After getting on my bike in 1992 and moving to Holland, where I worked for 18-and-a-half years, I returned to the town of my birth in 2011. In Holland I was earning about €40,000 a year in an aluminium factory. I can't earn a third of that here – barely even a quarter. On my return I was refused jobseeker's allowance for not being habitually resident, despite meeting all their own criteria (British bank account, registered with a GP, ties to the local area, etc).
So I worked a day here, a couple there through agencies. I worked on the bins, cleaning in a factory – anything. I then applied for a job at a big supermarket as a delivery driver. I got it, but they won't give you more than 30 or so hours over five days (Sundays and Tuesdays off, in my case).So I worked a day here, a couple there through agencies. I worked on the bins, cleaning in a factory – anything. I then applied for a job at a big supermarket as a delivery driver. I got it, but they won't give you more than 30 or so hours over five days (Sundays and Tuesdays off, in my case).
So I am on less than the minimum wage even though the hourly rate is slightly higher at about £6.60. I have been disciplined and sanctioned more times than I can remember for trivial "crimes" I didn't even commit. There is no extra for overtime or weekends. Even when you put in 14-plus hours a day, you're on the flat basic all the way. At 57 years old I can't afford a one-room flat in the cheapest part of the country. It is a disgrace. This is not the Britain that my father and his generation fought for.So I am on less than the minimum wage even though the hourly rate is slightly higher at about £6.60. I have been disciplined and sanctioned more times than I can remember for trivial "crimes" I didn't even commit. There is no extra for overtime or weekends. Even when you put in 14-plus hours a day, you're on the flat basic all the way. At 57 years old I can't afford a one-room flat in the cheapest part of the country. It is a disgrace. This is not the Britain that my father and his generation fought for.
Gavin: 'I get biscuits and coffee when I'm at my job as a life model'Gavin: 'I get biscuits and coffee when I'm at my job as a life model'
I am struck by this 18th-century idea of how the poor need to be motivated by the whip, whereas their "betters" need to get incentives like more money. There is a real contrast between how my minimum wage employer (who aren't so bad compared with a lot of them – though the bar is set pretty low), treats me and other workers, compared with my other jobs.I am struck by this 18th-century idea of how the poor need to be motivated by the whip, whereas their "betters" need to get incentives like more money. There is a real contrast between how my minimum wage employer (who aren't so bad compared with a lot of them – though the bar is set pretty low), treats me and other workers, compared with my other jobs.
I get biscuits and coffee when I'm at my job as a life model, whereas we don't even get a break at Wilkos, and they seem to think complaining about us is the best way to get us to work harder. I am working a 12-hour-a-week contract stacking shelves, but it's broken down into four three-hour shifts so the employer doesn't have to pay tea breaks. This isn't company policy, however, it's just the way the local manager arranges things. Other branches work it differently. I would add that I am relatively lucky as I can walk to work. A lot of the people on shift with me have to bus in, work three hours, then wait for the bus back. I get biscuits and coffee when I'm at my job as a life model, whereas we don't even get a break in my other job, and they seem to think complaining about us is the best way to get us to work harder. I am working a 12-hour-a-week contract stacking shelves, but it's broken down into four three-hour shifts so the employer doesn't have to pay tea breaks. This isn't company policy, however, it's just the way the local manager arranges things. Other branches work it differently. I would add that I am relatively lucky as I can walk to work. A lot of the people on shift with me have to bus in, work three hours, then wait for the bus back.