From Fairtrade to Fair Wage

Has anyone else had the new free ‘London Green News’ newspaper come through their door yet?!
I’ve gotta say, my housemate works at the Mayor’s office and when I said I wanted to vote for Brian Paddick (Liberal Democrat candidate) or the Green Party, he had a bit of a go and said that if I did, they’d not only be wasted votes, but votes that would have taken from Ken (Labour candidate) and essentially go to [and help] crazed Boris Johnson (Tory candidate) …. my flatmate has a point…

Well, so even though I love the fact that I’m getting this newspaper which is FULL of optimism about how we can change London for the better and a shade more greener, I can’t help but but feel really sorry for them, knowing that their policies will almost indefinitely never see the light of day.

However, there was on article in it that took my attention and it relates to a scheme called the Fair Pay Network which calls for a decent pay packet for workers…

More specifically though, they’ve brought in something called the London Living Wage which equates to £7.20 an hour and yes, is SUBSTANTIALLY higher the minimum wage but is calculated due to the spiraling and unmanageable costs of living in this forsaken City.. And the recent news is that the London Fire Authority have agreed to pay this wage to their cleaners!

Funnily enough, and you’ll love this, when voting was taking place as to whether the Fire Authority should get on board with this scheme, the Green Party members, as well as the Liberal Democrat and Labour ones all voted for whereas surprise, surprise, the Tory members didn’t.

Does that disgust anyone else, it’s not just me is it?!

So it seems that though Fairtrade is being seen more from the angle that international sellers need a decent wage for their labour/goods… right here at home, is also a good place to start.