Government, Employers, the TUs and Consultative groups must get together to work this through. It is terrifying that ignorance could actually put 100s or 1000s of people’s lives at risk because: ‘we’re doing you a favour, mate, by being prepared to work these hours / at this rate of pay / we want a cost of living increase / etc’. I am not advocating employers abuse the minimum wage, or the minimum statutory employment rights – but I do think we need to bring reason and logic into play.
Everything we ever knew about work should be seen to be ‘up for grabs’. No one has the right to a job, nor an income, nor income support. No one should believe that they can contribute nothing to their employer – and expect to get any benefits – and not be held accountable, somewhere or somehow. We seem to have hit a seam of such Nanny-stating, that there really are people in Britain who genuinely believe they are owed a living and need not take responsibility for their own lives. We all have a responsibility to help any misguided people understand, that NO, that is not the case, but that we all have a responsibility to ourselves, our families and our communities to grasp the nettle, now, and at least have a go at making a positive step towards a way out of this economic situation.