Sunday, 10 July 2011
Living sustainably in east London
The sight of Aileen and Michael Brownlee's house in St Marys Avenue, Wanstead is striking, not due to its architectural elegance but the presence of solar panels and photovoltaic tiles on the roof.The Brownlees had the system fitted 18 months ago as part of an ongoing effort to live in a more sustainable less carbon heavy way. As a result of having the system fitted, last year the Brownlees were able to live totally off the energy generated from the roof for six months of the year. Hot water from the boiler was supplied by the solar panels while electricity from the photovoltaic tiles powered the house during the day. The excess electricity generated goes back into the grid at an advantageous rate of return. This has meant that there has already been a substantial payback as a microgenerator of energy. Michael had the system fitted because it is the right thing to do but for those counting the pennies this type of system also makes sense. Energy costs are already rocketing upward so the system will pay back more rapidly as time goes by. "Supermarkets should be having these tiles on their roofs, then they could power the shop totally, not to make money out of the tariffs being paid by government but in order to stop destroying the planet," said Michael, who believes that no new construction should be being built now without some sort of sustainable energy system as part of it. "There has been lots of interest from people walking down the road, knocking on the door and asking about the system. Some have gone on and got it themselves," said Michael, who believe such renewable energy systems are a crucial way of getting away from reliance on the ever decreasing oil supplies in the world.Michael recalled that the first thing the family did was to grow their own vegetables in the back garden. "This started in basic fashion but has now advanced to seven raised beds and a small pollytunnel," said Michael, who recalls that last summer they did not have a meal that did not include something that had been grown in the garden. The most recent addition to the growing complex is an imposing greenhouse that will ensure that plants can be brought on ahead of time, without having to rely on the ever fluctuating climate outside. Composting waste material for garden use has also taken off in St Marys Avenue, resulting in the Brownlees now putting out just one black sack of waste rubbish a week compared to the previous three or four they regularly used to do. "I've also taken a decision not to use air travel," said Michael, who runs his ship broking business in partnership with his two sons Dominic and Ben. "I won't deny I have done a lot of air travel in the past but it is unsustainable. We have reached the point where oil productiion has peaked and it will be all downhill as far as oil supply is concerned from here on in. Peak oil has happened, I talk to the guys in the industry, they all acknowledge it now. In a very short period of time we are going to be back to village economics again. People need to realise this and learn to live with the consequences, too many remain in denial," said Michael, who is also trying to drive less and walk more. "My intention is not to buy another petrol car but get an electric one, when there is a bit more choice and the price becomes more sensible," said Michael, who will then be able to supply the car by way of a charger with elecricity generated from the photovoltaic tiles on the roof. The next project for the Brownlees is to plant some English apple trees at the bottom of the garden. "You can buy a tree that will give you apples from September. These things are available. They may not produce pristine perfectly round fruits of the type that the supermarkets crave but there is great flavour. It is important to keep these heritage things going," said Michael, who always makes the effort to buy British products, ideally sourced locally.He would also like to have chickens, though this may depend on the fox population in the area.. "A neighbour keeps bees, so we get honey from him," said Michael, who believes a barter type system is one thing that the local Wanstead Transition Initiative could encourage. So people who grow vegetables, either at home or on their allotments, could exchange with others. Somone might swap potatoes for carrots or apples. "If you explain to people, they will come round," said Michael. The Brownlees support the idea of the transition communities, believing that the concept of the more resilient less oil dependent community will be essential to develop for the future. "We all have to get things going ourselves, it is no good waiting for governments or corporations to act. Some people are no doubt in complete denial about what is happening to the world but you cannot opt out we all need to pull together in community," said Michael. * For more information on theWanstead Transition Initiative see: www.transitionwanstead.org.uk
Sunday, 5 June 2011
Working for social justice, bringing about the common good
One of the most shocking facts recently revealed by Bishop William Kenny was that if arms spending was stopped for three months the world could be fed. Some US$1.25 trillion a year is spent on war.
Another alarming fact is that by the end of this century the population of the world will have come down to 1 billion due to the ravages caused by climate change. Putting that into context children like my nephew, who is now 11, and those younger will probably be nearing the end of their lives - and be at their most vulnerable - when these horrendous changes take place.
These injustices should really inspire people to get involved. Human beings have been put on the earth by God. They have been entrusted to care for God’s earth and participate in a just world. What is just about so much money being expended on the means to kill each other and destroy the earth, while two thirds of the world live on less than a dollar a day?
As Christians we are not called to go to the Church as a place of sanctuary, allowing the “real” world to go by outside untouched. As followers of Christ, we are called to act to bring transformative kingdom values to the world. This means getting involved.There is real concern that people in the pews are just not engaging anymore, there is a lack of formation in the work of social justice. Research conducted by Catherine Waters Clark has found that just 12 out of 22 diocese have paid J&P resources. CAFOD partly fund 8 out of 12 diocese. The average age of a justice and peace person is 55 to 60. Most dioceses are working on fair-trade, poverty, the environment, homelessness, migrants and asylum seekers.The generation that was inspired by Vatican II really looked beyond the Church walls, saw the challenges and got engaged. As with much else in the Church there is every sign that much of this work has stopped or at best moved to the periphery in those generations that came after Vatican II. This suggests that the structures of formation have declined.The society ofcourse in which we live has changed beyond all recognition also since the Vatican Council of the 1960s. The last 30 years has seen the domination of the neo-liberal market model of development. This is an extreme form of capitalism that leads to hero worship of those who feature on the rich list but derision for the single mother struggling to get by on the sink estate. It is a society that when crisis hits seeks to pass the burden of debt via cuts onto the poorest and most vulnerable in society, rather than increasing the taxes on the richest.For those involved in social justice – which by definition should be all Catholics – many of these changes in the world are dispiriting but Catholic Social Teaching says we have to press on.There is a new awareness now arising out of the Pope’s visit and the ongoing domestic political situation of the need to get involved in the work for social justice. The Caritas Social Action Network has organised a series of conferences bringing together different individuals and agencies involved in the work of social justice. It is conducting a mapping exercise to find out what is going on across the country. The next stage of this process should involve finding out exactly what is happening at grass roots parish and schools level in terms of social justice work.The work of justice and peace in particular has long been underfunded, with those involved often feeling like pariahs in their own parish and beyond. But in reality these people are the prophetic voice of the Church, questioning the injustice of the arms trade, the challenges of climate change and inequity of the economic system. They are not a sect or wing of the Church but are essentially doing what all should be doing.It is though not all bad news. As Rosemary Read, the president of the National Council of Lay Associations rencently pointed out: apartheid is no more, there is peace in Ireland, the fair trade movement has taken off and become mainstream and much international debt has been cancelled. There have been huge achievements by a relatively small group of people. Imagine what could happen if everyone got involved – there could be genuine transformation of the world for kingdom values.The Church though needs to step up to the mark. There must be proper resourcing provided for justice and peace, not marginalising the work by restricting funding. The processes for formation need to be re-established and they must be bottom up, not top down. Our Church leaders must be more prepared to speak out on matters of justice not just keep a safe silence. Silence often equates with approval for the whole edifice of injustice outlined at the start. We live in an unjust world and it is high time that we as Church began playing a far more active role in bringing about its transformation for the common good
Another alarming fact is that by the end of this century the population of the world will have come down to 1 billion due to the ravages caused by climate change. Putting that into context children like my nephew, who is now 11, and those younger will probably be nearing the end of their lives - and be at their most vulnerable - when these horrendous changes take place.
These injustices should really inspire people to get involved. Human beings have been put on the earth by God. They have been entrusted to care for God’s earth and participate in a just world. What is just about so much money being expended on the means to kill each other and destroy the earth, while two thirds of the world live on less than a dollar a day?
As Christians we are not called to go to the Church as a place of sanctuary, allowing the “real” world to go by outside untouched. As followers of Christ, we are called to act to bring transformative kingdom values to the world. This means getting involved.There is real concern that people in the pews are just not engaging anymore, there is a lack of formation in the work of social justice. Research conducted by Catherine Waters Clark has found that just 12 out of 22 diocese have paid J&P resources. CAFOD partly fund 8 out of 12 diocese. The average age of a justice and peace person is 55 to 60. Most dioceses are working on fair-trade, poverty, the environment, homelessness, migrants and asylum seekers.The generation that was inspired by Vatican II really looked beyond the Church walls, saw the challenges and got engaged. As with much else in the Church there is every sign that much of this work has stopped or at best moved to the periphery in those generations that came after Vatican II. This suggests that the structures of formation have declined.The society ofcourse in which we live has changed beyond all recognition also since the Vatican Council of the 1960s. The last 30 years has seen the domination of the neo-liberal market model of development. This is an extreme form of capitalism that leads to hero worship of those who feature on the rich list but derision for the single mother struggling to get by on the sink estate. It is a society that when crisis hits seeks to pass the burden of debt via cuts onto the poorest and most vulnerable in society, rather than increasing the taxes on the richest.For those involved in social justice – which by definition should be all Catholics – many of these changes in the world are dispiriting but Catholic Social Teaching says we have to press on.There is a new awareness now arising out of the Pope’s visit and the ongoing domestic political situation of the need to get involved in the work for social justice. The Caritas Social Action Network has organised a series of conferences bringing together different individuals and agencies involved in the work of social justice. It is conducting a mapping exercise to find out what is going on across the country. The next stage of this process should involve finding out exactly what is happening at grass roots parish and schools level in terms of social justice work.The work of justice and peace in particular has long been underfunded, with those involved often feeling like pariahs in their own parish and beyond. But in reality these people are the prophetic voice of the Church, questioning the injustice of the arms trade, the challenges of climate change and inequity of the economic system. They are not a sect or wing of the Church but are essentially doing what all should be doing.It is though not all bad news. As Rosemary Read, the president of the National Council of Lay Associations rencently pointed out: apartheid is no more, there is peace in Ireland, the fair trade movement has taken off and become mainstream and much international debt has been cancelled. There have been huge achievements by a relatively small group of people. Imagine what could happen if everyone got involved – there could be genuine transformation of the world for kingdom values.The Church though needs to step up to the mark. There must be proper resourcing provided for justice and peace, not marginalising the work by restricting funding. The processes for formation need to be re-established and they must be bottom up, not top down. Our Church leaders must be more prepared to speak out on matters of justice not just keep a safe silence. Silence often equates with approval for the whole edifice of injustice outlined at the start. We live in an unjust world and it is high time that we as Church began playing a far more active role in bringing about its transformation for the common good
Land reform not nuclear power needed to combat climate change
It was good news for the future of the planet to learn that Germany will be phasing out all nuclear power installations over the next 10 years.The Germans response to the horror that recently unveiled in Japan at the Fukishama nuclear plant following the earthquake was the appropriate one. People took to the streets in protest at the dangers posed by nuclear power. The feelings of people against nuclear power were also reflected in the recent elections in Germany. All in all the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel were left in no doubt as to what course of action they should take over future energy provision. As a result, the German government has taken a bold step to replace the 23 per cent of nuclear provision with renewable energy sources.So what has happened in this country, well hardly a whimper of dissent, certainly no street protests of German proportions. While the German people recognised the danger and acted appropriately, the British continued to dwell in their insular comfort zone, complaining about Europe. Despite the evidence of devastation from Japan, the Coalition Government is committed to continue with the ill thought out programme of new nuclear power stations laid down by the last administration.Indeed, not only was there no protest over the dangers of nuclear power but previous opponents of the industry like environmentalist and writer George Monbiot declared his conversion to this form of energy as a result of what he saw in Japan.There has been a narrative developed in the public discourse here that equates combatting climate change with the need to adopt nuclear power. The cost of this misconception in human and environmental terms in the form of a crisis like Fukishama should be clear enough for all to see. The irony of using such a destructive technology as nuclear power to allegedly save the planet must surely be lost on no one.
It is extraordinary that people with children are not concerned about these issues. It is the future of the planet that is at stake and it will be the children of today who pay the price in the world of tomorrow. The effects of climate change will hit the present generation of youngsters hardest and the nuclear option is only likely to add to the appalling legacy that that today's adults are leaving to their children.It is high time that the threat of climate chage was taken seriously. Nuclear energy is no solution, as Japan proves it is dangerous and costly. What is required is to get back to a much simpler way of living. Local communities need to be rebuilt around their energy needs and locally produced goods. This will mean getting back to the land. In order for this to happen one vital prerequisite is land reform. A recent study found that if all the land in the world were divided equally amongst the present population then everyone could have four acres. This would be more than enough to sustainably support individuals and families. However, in reality large swathes of the world are owned by a small number of individuals. One of the largest landowners in the world is our own Queen. If there is truly to be land reform along the lines needed for people to get back to a more agrarian and less environmentally destructive way of life then there will have to be a land redistribution.But before any of this can happen there needs to be a recognition that the present economic system is not working, indeed market capitalism of the type being practiced now is not only responsible for destroying the planet but also for disempowering the very people who could bring about the change. Human beings have changed from being citizens to consumers, shorn of the power to make change outside of anything beyond a transactional notion.People need to get back democratic power. The way in which the Germans have rejected the nuclear industry proves that democracy is stronger in some countries than others. But if the world is to move to a more sustainable way of living, involving getting back to the land and production at a local level, then the democratic leavers need to be restored uiniversally. Only then can developments like the land reform needed to get back to a truly localised form of agrarian production be accomplished.
It is extraordinary that people with children are not concerned about these issues. It is the future of the planet that is at stake and it will be the children of today who pay the price in the world of tomorrow. The effects of climate change will hit the present generation of youngsters hardest and the nuclear option is only likely to add to the appalling legacy that that today's adults are leaving to their children.It is high time that the threat of climate chage was taken seriously. Nuclear energy is no solution, as Japan proves it is dangerous and costly. What is required is to get back to a much simpler way of living. Local communities need to be rebuilt around their energy needs and locally produced goods. This will mean getting back to the land. In order for this to happen one vital prerequisite is land reform. A recent study found that if all the land in the world were divided equally amongst the present population then everyone could have four acres. This would be more than enough to sustainably support individuals and families. However, in reality large swathes of the world are owned by a small number of individuals. One of the largest landowners in the world is our own Queen. If there is truly to be land reform along the lines needed for people to get back to a more agrarian and less environmentally destructive way of life then there will have to be a land redistribution.But before any of this can happen there needs to be a recognition that the present economic system is not working, indeed market capitalism of the type being practiced now is not only responsible for destroying the planet but also for disempowering the very people who could bring about the change. Human beings have changed from being citizens to consumers, shorn of the power to make change outside of anything beyond a transactional notion.People need to get back democratic power. The way in which the Germans have rejected the nuclear industry proves that democracy is stronger in some countries than others. But if the world is to move to a more sustainable way of living, involving getting back to the land and production at a local level, then the democratic leavers need to be restored uiniversally. Only then can developments like the land reform needed to get back to a truly localised form of agrarian production be accomplished.
Friday, 3 June 2011
Church has to live up to living wage promise
The concept of the living wage has really taken off in London with campaigners claiming that more £70 million has been put into the pockets of the poorest people over the past 10 years.
Among the highlights have been getting the London Mayor to adopt the idea for staff within his remit and setting a guiding level for the living wage each year. The present mayor Boris Johnson recently set the living wage level at £8.30 an hour for the next year.
Another big success was getting the organisers of the 2012 Olympics to make the site a living wage area. This saw games organiser Locog confirm that the £700 million of contracts would be awarded only to companies agreeing to pay the living wage.
Others signing up to the living wage include HSBC, Barclays, Standard Chartered and KPMG from the private sector. In the public sector there were four hospital trusts and local authorities like Tower Hamlets, Islington, Camden, Greenwich, Ealing, Waltham Forest, Hackney, Hounslow and Lewisham signing up. Some 12 universities, two museums and four central government contracts have become living wage employers. The idea is now spreading out beyond the capital to Oxford, Norwich, Preston and Scotland.
There has been political backing with Prime Minister David Cameron describing the living wage as “an idea whose time has come.” Labour leader Ed Miliband has also supported the idea.
Now the living wage campaign has set itself wider targets, seeking to get Tesco to use some of its £3.8 billion profits to pay all its 280,000 staff the living wage. At present the groceries giant pays its cleaners and other lowest paid people the minimum wage. The living wage campaign wants the company to pay the £8.30 living wage in the capital and £7.20 outside.
The idea of a living wage came from America but the motivation here came at community level where due to poverty pay people were having to do two and three jobs a week to try and keep their families above the poverty line. As Deborah Litman, a national officer at Unison and vice-chair of the London Living wage campaign pointed out “two thirds of low income households have someone in work.”
As a result the community organising group London Citizens began the campaign for a living wage. Research was commissioned from Queen Mary University to find what the level of wages should be for people to be able to live above the poverty line in London. The initial rate was set in 2003 at £6.30 an hour.
Low pay does not make sense for workers, employers or society as a whole. Employers who have taken on the living wage report better motivated staff, less turnover and absenteeism. It is also good news for the tax payer as previously companies paying low wages have effectively been subsidised by the payment of tax credits to bring people up to a minimum standard of living.
The Churches have played a central role in the living wage campaign. It was endorsed in its early days by Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor when he was Archbishop of Westminster. The present Archbishop Vincent Nichols has continued support for the living wage campaign. Bishop Thomas McMahon of Brentwood has been a keen backer of the campaign for the past 10 years. He recently drew comparison with the days of Cardinal Manning and the 1889 dock strike when the Cardinal said that "a worker’s wage should be sufficient to keep his wife and children, to provide them with decent housing and a healthy diet and to educate them." Southwark Diocese too has backed the campaign.
Catholic churches and parishes make up around 45 per cent of the membership of the community organisers London Citizens that have pushed the living wage campaign. The big question though is are the Churches practicing what the preach?
The Million Minutes organisation have set it as a criteria for any organisation they give money to that they must be paying the living wage to all workers. Danny Curtin, the founder of the Million Minutes initiative to raise funds via a mass sponsored silence for youth based projects has his doubts. "It is very very sad that there is any diocese or church organisation that is not paying or making the living wage a priority. And I know there are different diocese not paying the living wage," said Mr Curtin. "If the Church is supporting the living wage campaigns it should be leading by example. We should be treating employees well with dignity in the workplace."
In 2002, Church Action on Poverty conducted some research in Greater Manchester across 190 churches from the Catholic, Anglican, United Reformed Church, Baptist and Methodists. They found that of 850 people employed by the Churches, two out of three were paid less than the living wage (set at £5.80 for outside London at that time). In another sample of Church organisations it was found that of 145 people employed by 21 organisations, 57 per cent were not receiving a living wage. Among 20 church schools some 7,850 employees were being paid less than the living wage out of 20,000 low paid employees in schools in the Greater Manchester area
“When Church Action on Poverty surveyed the pay of church employees in Manchester, we found that nearly 2 in 3 church employees and about half of Christian organisation employees were paid less than a living wage. This very disappointing situation has not changed much on the ground since then, despite some very promising commitments by some of the churches on a national level,” said Niall Cooper, director of CAP. “It is essential that the churches lead the way in paying a living wage. Not just because it reflects gospel values, but because it will enable them to speak out prophetically and clearly when other employers exploit and degrade vulnerable people. We will continue pressing the churches on this issue.”
Among the diocese supporting the living wage, Westminster claim “the overwhelming majority of staff directly employed.. are paid at or above the London Living Wage".
"The pay of a small number of staff falls below this level. This principally reflects the limited financial resources of some of our parishes. Adopting the London Living Wage as a minimum pay level has been considered by the diocese and discussions on how this can be achieved will continue,” said a spokesperson for the Westminster diocese.
A spokesperson for the Brentwood diocese said: "The living wage has been put into effect in the diocesan offices at Cathedral House and the Trustees of the Diocese of Brentwood are in the final stages of agreeing a policy to recommend the payment of the living wage for all those employed by parishes around the diocese.”
Southwark Diocese failed to respond.
A look at the how the Methodist Church has gone about implementing the living wage offers an interesting lesson on how important it is to follow through on commitments.
The Methodist conference first declared in 2003 that “pay and benefits should be set in relation to need. Four years later, it declared that “all Methodist employees should be paid the living wage.” However, this did not happen, the Methodists found that few knew about the ruling outside of those directly involved in employment relations. Anomalies became apparent with two people sitting next to each other doing similar work but both being paid a different living wage. Other various comments came forward like staff did not want a pay rise or “we don’t get the living wage” from some clergy.
Something had to be done so in 2010 the conference decreed that “there should be a workable plan for implementation on the basis of costs.” The plan put in place was implemented by the Joint Public Issues team working for the Methodists, Baptists and United Reformed Church. Implementation meant all those in the Methodist Church who could afford to pay the living wage were told to do so. If there were genuine reasons in a local situation why not then they would have five years to implement with help from the Joint Public Issues team that would help with business plans and such like.
Dr Paul Morrison, a policy advisor with the Joint Public Issues team working for the Methodists, Baptists and United Reformed Church, recommends education and campaign work on the living wage both inside and outside the church. “A Church paying the living wage should be pleased about it,” said Dr Morrison. “Church members should ask employers do they pay all staff the living wage.”
So what the Methodist Church experience teaches is that it is no good organisations just committing to the living wage, there has to be an active audit style process undertaken to ensure that the various parts of the organisation are complying with the directive.
There is still a long way to go with CAP particularly keen that the Catholic and Anglican churches start stepping up to the mark when it comes to paying the living wage. For the moment it would seem many of the churches are talking the talk but not walking the walk on the living wage.
Among the highlights have been getting the London Mayor to adopt the idea for staff within his remit and setting a guiding level for the living wage each year. The present mayor Boris Johnson recently set the living wage level at £8.30 an hour for the next year.
Another big success was getting the organisers of the 2012 Olympics to make the site a living wage area. This saw games organiser Locog confirm that the £700 million of contracts would be awarded only to companies agreeing to pay the living wage.
Others signing up to the living wage include HSBC, Barclays, Standard Chartered and KPMG from the private sector. In the public sector there were four hospital trusts and local authorities like Tower Hamlets, Islington, Camden, Greenwich, Ealing, Waltham Forest, Hackney, Hounslow and Lewisham signing up. Some 12 universities, two museums and four central government contracts have become living wage employers. The idea is now spreading out beyond the capital to Oxford, Norwich, Preston and Scotland.
There has been political backing with Prime Minister David Cameron describing the living wage as “an idea whose time has come.” Labour leader Ed Miliband has also supported the idea.
Now the living wage campaign has set itself wider targets, seeking to get Tesco to use some of its £3.8 billion profits to pay all its 280,000 staff the living wage. At present the groceries giant pays its cleaners and other lowest paid people the minimum wage. The living wage campaign wants the company to pay the £8.30 living wage in the capital and £7.20 outside.
The idea of a living wage came from America but the motivation here came at community level where due to poverty pay people were having to do two and three jobs a week to try and keep their families above the poverty line. As Deborah Litman, a national officer at Unison and vice-chair of the London Living wage campaign pointed out “two thirds of low income households have someone in work.”
As a result the community organising group London Citizens began the campaign for a living wage. Research was commissioned from Queen Mary University to find what the level of wages should be for people to be able to live above the poverty line in London. The initial rate was set in 2003 at £6.30 an hour.
Low pay does not make sense for workers, employers or society as a whole. Employers who have taken on the living wage report better motivated staff, less turnover and absenteeism. It is also good news for the tax payer as previously companies paying low wages have effectively been subsidised by the payment of tax credits to bring people up to a minimum standard of living.
The Churches have played a central role in the living wage campaign. It was endorsed in its early days by Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor when he was Archbishop of Westminster. The present Archbishop Vincent Nichols has continued support for the living wage campaign. Bishop Thomas McMahon of Brentwood has been a keen backer of the campaign for the past 10 years. He recently drew comparison with the days of Cardinal Manning and the 1889 dock strike when the Cardinal said that "a worker’s wage should be sufficient to keep his wife and children, to provide them with decent housing and a healthy diet and to educate them." Southwark Diocese too has backed the campaign.
Catholic churches and parishes make up around 45 per cent of the membership of the community organisers London Citizens that have pushed the living wage campaign. The big question though is are the Churches practicing what the preach?
The Million Minutes organisation have set it as a criteria for any organisation they give money to that they must be paying the living wage to all workers. Danny Curtin, the founder of the Million Minutes initiative to raise funds via a mass sponsored silence for youth based projects has his doubts. "It is very very sad that there is any diocese or church organisation that is not paying or making the living wage a priority. And I know there are different diocese not paying the living wage," said Mr Curtin. "If the Church is supporting the living wage campaigns it should be leading by example. We should be treating employees well with dignity in the workplace."
In 2002, Church Action on Poverty conducted some research in Greater Manchester across 190 churches from the Catholic, Anglican, United Reformed Church, Baptist and Methodists. They found that of 850 people employed by the Churches, two out of three were paid less than the living wage (set at £5.80 for outside London at that time). In another sample of Church organisations it was found that of 145 people employed by 21 organisations, 57 per cent were not receiving a living wage. Among 20 church schools some 7,850 employees were being paid less than the living wage out of 20,000 low paid employees in schools in the Greater Manchester area
“When Church Action on Poverty surveyed the pay of church employees in Manchester, we found that nearly 2 in 3 church employees and about half of Christian organisation employees were paid less than a living wage. This very disappointing situation has not changed much on the ground since then, despite some very promising commitments by some of the churches on a national level,” said Niall Cooper, director of CAP. “It is essential that the churches lead the way in paying a living wage. Not just because it reflects gospel values, but because it will enable them to speak out prophetically and clearly when other employers exploit and degrade vulnerable people. We will continue pressing the churches on this issue.”
Among the diocese supporting the living wage, Westminster claim “the overwhelming majority of staff directly employed.. are paid at or above the London Living Wage".
"The pay of a small number of staff falls below this level. This principally reflects the limited financial resources of some of our parishes. Adopting the London Living Wage as a minimum pay level has been considered by the diocese and discussions on how this can be achieved will continue,” said a spokesperson for the Westminster diocese.
A spokesperson for the Brentwood diocese said: "The living wage has been put into effect in the diocesan offices at Cathedral House and the Trustees of the Diocese of Brentwood are in the final stages of agreeing a policy to recommend the payment of the living wage for all those employed by parishes around the diocese.”
Southwark Diocese failed to respond.
A look at the how the Methodist Church has gone about implementing the living wage offers an interesting lesson on how important it is to follow through on commitments.
The Methodist conference first declared in 2003 that “pay and benefits should be set in relation to need. Four years later, it declared that “all Methodist employees should be paid the living wage.” However, this did not happen, the Methodists found that few knew about the ruling outside of those directly involved in employment relations. Anomalies became apparent with two people sitting next to each other doing similar work but both being paid a different living wage. Other various comments came forward like staff did not want a pay rise or “we don’t get the living wage” from some clergy.
Something had to be done so in 2010 the conference decreed that “there should be a workable plan for implementation on the basis of costs.” The plan put in place was implemented by the Joint Public Issues team working for the Methodists, Baptists and United Reformed Church. Implementation meant all those in the Methodist Church who could afford to pay the living wage were told to do so. If there were genuine reasons in a local situation why not then they would have five years to implement with help from the Joint Public Issues team that would help with business plans and such like.
Dr Paul Morrison, a policy advisor with the Joint Public Issues team working for the Methodists, Baptists and United Reformed Church, recommends education and campaign work on the living wage both inside and outside the church. “A Church paying the living wage should be pleased about it,” said Dr Morrison. “Church members should ask employers do they pay all staff the living wage.”
So what the Methodist Church experience teaches is that it is no good organisations just committing to the living wage, there has to be an active audit style process undertaken to ensure that the various parts of the organisation are complying with the directive.
There is still a long way to go with CAP particularly keen that the Catholic and Anglican churches start stepping up to the mark when it comes to paying the living wage. For the moment it would seem many of the churches are talking the talk but not walking the walk on the living wage.
Monday, 30 May 2011
Bruce Kent tells of his irishness, miscarriages of justice and peace
Bruce Kent’s involvement with matters Irish has come in all shapes and sizes throughout his life. A serving soldier in the North at the Palace Barracks outside Belfast for a few months in 1948, a helper to Sister Sarah Clarke’s in her efforts to support Irish miscarriage of justice victims and a steadfast battler for prisoner’s rights and peace.
Bruce recalled when serving as a priest being asked where he was from. “I’d say Golders Green, and then the silver mines of Tipperary, where my great grandmother came from,” said Bruce, who reveals that is mother was a devout Irish Canadian Catholic.
His short time in Ireland as part of the British army nevertheless opened his eyes. “I remember seeing the papers at the back of churches in Gaelic. Then realising that all the history we had been taught in England was about Henry VIII and his wives. There was nothing about Irish partition or the civil war – it was pathetic that this was not brought up in school,” said Bruce, who realised at that time the depth of the prejudice.
Bruce Kent has spent much of his life involved with miscarriage of justice issues. Most recently he has been pressing the case of Raymond Gilbert, who remains in prison for a murder in a Liverpool bookmakers in 1981 which he insists he did not commit. The other man convicted of the murder, John Kamara, was freed by the Court of Appeal in 2000. Gilbert remains in prison partly because he will not admit to any guilt.
Bruce's involvement with the issue though really took off at the time when Sister Sarah Clarke was supporting the families of the Irish miscarriage of justice victims. “Sister Sarah used me to find safe houses and places for relations to stay when they came over visiting,” said Bruce, who was impressed with the efforts of Cardinal Basil Hume on behalf of the Conlon family. He is though dismayed that the Church today is not taking up prisoner’s issues and particularly those of miscarriages of justice.
Bruce suggests that if 10 per cent of those in prison today are innocent then that amounts to 9,000 people which is a real scandal.
One area where Bruce has been particularly involved over recent years has been with those Muslim men being held in detention either under control order style house arrest or in prison. One individual he has supported has been Mustapha Taleb. He was originally arrested and tried in connection with what became known in media parlance as the ricin plot. No ricin was found and Taleb together with a number of others accused was cleared in the courts. This though did not stop him being picked up in 2005 and placed under a control order. Since that time he has been detained in prison and then released again under control order style detention. “He and the others being detained in this way don’t know who has accused them or what they are accused of,” said Bruce, who sees Taleb as being in this limbo situation of detention for many years to come as his case eventually reaches the appeal court then the supreme court and the European Court of Human Rights.
Bruce sees this means of detaining people under anti-terror law for long periods with no recourse to a properly constituted court of law as having its antecedents in the Irish situation and successive Prevention of Terrorism Acts. He sees real parallels between the way the Irish were treated in the years of the Troubles and the Muslims today. “The difference is that the Irish did have support right up to Cardinal Hume, the Muslims have no one,” said Bruce, who believes the present approach to addressing terrorism, is likely to increase resentment and help create terrorists.
The former priest believes that the attitude to nuclear power and particularly nuclear weapons is reckless. He sees humankind not acting as a trustee for the world but storing up dangerous nuclear waste that has a life running into thousands of years.
The anti-nuclear campaigner is disappointed that there has been so little progress toward abolition of nuclear weapons. He does not believe countries are serious about getting rid of this dangerous technology. Of the big five countries on the UN Security Council, only China favour no first use. They have talked of limited deployment of nuclear weapons and are willing to start negotiations on abolition. “How can we tell Iran they should not have nuclear weapons when we are committed to developing a new generation,” said Bruce, who is pleased that the Church has spoken out for abolition. “Individuals like Cardinal Keith O’Brien and the Bishop of Brentwood Thomas McMahon have been marvellous in speaking out on the issue,” said Bruce, who is keen that the link between spending on nuclear technology and poverty be made more clearly by the Church.
Bruce is also concerned about the attacks on Libya of recent weeks, pointing out that under Article 42 of the UN Charter every other means must be pursued before a war is started. “In Libya and many other recent conflicts this has clearly not been the case,” said Bruce, who admits that he always enjoys his trips to Ireland talking on issues of justice and peace. “It is always like a breath of fresh air to me,” said Bruce.
Bruce recalled when serving as a priest being asked where he was from. “I’d say Golders Green, and then the silver mines of Tipperary, where my great grandmother came from,” said Bruce, who reveals that is mother was a devout Irish Canadian Catholic.
His short time in Ireland as part of the British army nevertheless opened his eyes. “I remember seeing the papers at the back of churches in Gaelic. Then realising that all the history we had been taught in England was about Henry VIII and his wives. There was nothing about Irish partition or the civil war – it was pathetic that this was not brought up in school,” said Bruce, who realised at that time the depth of the prejudice.
Bruce Kent has spent much of his life involved with miscarriage of justice issues. Most recently he has been pressing the case of Raymond Gilbert, who remains in prison for a murder in a Liverpool bookmakers in 1981 which he insists he did not commit. The other man convicted of the murder, John Kamara, was freed by the Court of Appeal in 2000. Gilbert remains in prison partly because he will not admit to any guilt.
Bruce's involvement with the issue though really took off at the time when Sister Sarah Clarke was supporting the families of the Irish miscarriage of justice victims. “Sister Sarah used me to find safe houses and places for relations to stay when they came over visiting,” said Bruce, who was impressed with the efforts of Cardinal Basil Hume on behalf of the Conlon family. He is though dismayed that the Church today is not taking up prisoner’s issues and particularly those of miscarriages of justice.
Bruce suggests that if 10 per cent of those in prison today are innocent then that amounts to 9,000 people which is a real scandal.
One area where Bruce has been particularly involved over recent years has been with those Muslim men being held in detention either under control order style house arrest or in prison. One individual he has supported has been Mustapha Taleb. He was originally arrested and tried in connection with what became known in media parlance as the ricin plot. No ricin was found and Taleb together with a number of others accused was cleared in the courts. This though did not stop him being picked up in 2005 and placed under a control order. Since that time he has been detained in prison and then released again under control order style detention. “He and the others being detained in this way don’t know who has accused them or what they are accused of,” said Bruce, who sees Taleb as being in this limbo situation of detention for many years to come as his case eventually reaches the appeal court then the supreme court and the European Court of Human Rights.
Bruce sees this means of detaining people under anti-terror law for long periods with no recourse to a properly constituted court of law as having its antecedents in the Irish situation and successive Prevention of Terrorism Acts. He sees real parallels between the way the Irish were treated in the years of the Troubles and the Muslims today. “The difference is that the Irish did have support right up to Cardinal Hume, the Muslims have no one,” said Bruce, who believes the present approach to addressing terrorism, is likely to increase resentment and help create terrorists.
The former priest believes that the attitude to nuclear power and particularly nuclear weapons is reckless. He sees humankind not acting as a trustee for the world but storing up dangerous nuclear waste that has a life running into thousands of years.
The anti-nuclear campaigner is disappointed that there has been so little progress toward abolition of nuclear weapons. He does not believe countries are serious about getting rid of this dangerous technology. Of the big five countries on the UN Security Council, only China favour no first use. They have talked of limited deployment of nuclear weapons and are willing to start negotiations on abolition. “How can we tell Iran they should not have nuclear weapons when we are committed to developing a new generation,” said Bruce, who is pleased that the Church has spoken out for abolition. “Individuals like Cardinal Keith O’Brien and the Bishop of Brentwood Thomas McMahon have been marvellous in speaking out on the issue,” said Bruce, who is keen that the link between spending on nuclear technology and poverty be made more clearly by the Church.
Bruce is also concerned about the attacks on Libya of recent weeks, pointing out that under Article 42 of the UN Charter every other means must be pursued before a war is started. “In Libya and many other recent conflicts this has clearly not been the case,” said Bruce, who admits that he always enjoys his trips to Ireland talking on issues of justice and peace. “It is always like a breath of fresh air to me,” said Bruce.
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Living wage campaign proves collective action works
The success of the living wage campaign in London over the past decade provides a good example of what can be achieved with collective action.
The idea came from the grass roots of trade unions and community organising groups. Low wages meant cleaners and security staff working in Canary Wharf and other areas of the capital having to do two or three jobs a week to try to keep their families above the poverty line.
As a result the community organising group London Citizens began the campaign for a living wage. Research was commissioned from Queen Mary University to find what the level of wages should be for people to be able to live above the poverty line in London. The initial rate was set at £6.30 an hour.
London Citizens spoke nicely to the senior managers of companies and when this did not work a more direct approach was taken. The latter in one case involved taking lots of small coinage and banking it slowly at an Oxford Street branch of HSBC. A meeting with then chairman of HSBC Sir John Bond followed.
A big break for the campaign came in 2004 when then London Mayor Ken Livingstone agreed to set up a Living Wage unit that would set an annual rate. The first rate was set at £6.70 in 2005. Now, the living wage stands at £8.30 an hour while the minimum wage is £5.93.
Private companies have increasingly adopted the living wage, with HSBC, Barclays, Standard Chartered and KPMG among those signing up. In the public sector there were hospital trusts and local authorities like Tower Hamlets, Islington, Ealing and Lewisham which became living wage employers. All together it is believed that £40 million has been put into the pockets of the lowest paid over the last 10 years.
Unions like PCS have taken actions in favour of low paid workers most recently at Buckingham Palace and previously down the road at the Palace of Westminster.
The living wage though makes sense for the employer as well as the worker. There is better morale among staff, which leads to lower turnover and improved productivity.
Now the living wage campaign has set itself wider targets, seeking to get Tesco to use some of its £3.8 billion profits to pay all its 280,000 staff the living wage. At present the groceries giant pays its cleaners and other lowest paid people the minimum wage. The living wage campaign wants the company to pay the £8.30 living wage in the capital and £7.20 outside.
There are also plans to pressure other companies via shareholders at AGMs. A Living Wage Foundation is being set up that will operate along similar lines to the Fairtrade Foundation, awarding a mark of recognition to good employers.
Following on from the living wage campaign community organisers and unions called for a regularisation of undocumented workers. These demands came together in the Strangers into Citizens campaign that looks to introduce an earned citizenship for those who have been in the country a number of years, without papers, but contributing positively to the country.
The living wage and regularisation campaigns compliment each other because having a minimum living level for wages stops unscrupulous employers from using migrant labour to undercut the existing workforce.
The payment of low wages has been a scandal over the years, given it not only robs the worker of the value of their labour but also provides a welfare payment from the tax payer to unscrupulous companies. So a company can pay low wages knowing that the state will pick up the difference with other tax credit payments. This is the welfare cheating that is all too absent from the populist press.
The success of the living wage campaign over the past 10 years is a cause for celebration, a real example that collective action still works best when it comes to obtaining justice for all.
The idea came from the grass roots of trade unions and community organising groups. Low wages meant cleaners and security staff working in Canary Wharf and other areas of the capital having to do two or three jobs a week to try to keep their families above the poverty line.
As a result the community organising group London Citizens began the campaign for a living wage. Research was commissioned from Queen Mary University to find what the level of wages should be for people to be able to live above the poverty line in London. The initial rate was set at £6.30 an hour.
London Citizens spoke nicely to the senior managers of companies and when this did not work a more direct approach was taken. The latter in one case involved taking lots of small coinage and banking it slowly at an Oxford Street branch of HSBC. A meeting with then chairman of HSBC Sir John Bond followed.
A big break for the campaign came in 2004 when then London Mayor Ken Livingstone agreed to set up a Living Wage unit that would set an annual rate. The first rate was set at £6.70 in 2005. Now, the living wage stands at £8.30 an hour while the minimum wage is £5.93.
Private companies have increasingly adopted the living wage, with HSBC, Barclays, Standard Chartered and KPMG among those signing up. In the public sector there were hospital trusts and local authorities like Tower Hamlets, Islington, Ealing and Lewisham which became living wage employers. All together it is believed that £40 million has been put into the pockets of the lowest paid over the last 10 years.
Unions like PCS have taken actions in favour of low paid workers most recently at Buckingham Palace and previously down the road at the Palace of Westminster.
The living wage though makes sense for the employer as well as the worker. There is better morale among staff, which leads to lower turnover and improved productivity.
Now the living wage campaign has set itself wider targets, seeking to get Tesco to use some of its £3.8 billion profits to pay all its 280,000 staff the living wage. At present the groceries giant pays its cleaners and other lowest paid people the minimum wage. The living wage campaign wants the company to pay the £8.30 living wage in the capital and £7.20 outside.
There are also plans to pressure other companies via shareholders at AGMs. A Living Wage Foundation is being set up that will operate along similar lines to the Fairtrade Foundation, awarding a mark of recognition to good employers.
Following on from the living wage campaign community organisers and unions called for a regularisation of undocumented workers. These demands came together in the Strangers into Citizens campaign that looks to introduce an earned citizenship for those who have been in the country a number of years, without papers, but contributing positively to the country.
The living wage and regularisation campaigns compliment each other because having a minimum living level for wages stops unscrupulous employers from using migrant labour to undercut the existing workforce.
The payment of low wages has been a scandal over the years, given it not only robs the worker of the value of their labour but also provides a welfare payment from the tax payer to unscrupulous companies. So a company can pay low wages knowing that the state will pick up the difference with other tax credit payments. This is the welfare cheating that is all too absent from the populist press.
The success of the living wage campaign over the past 10 years is a cause for celebration, a real example that collective action still works best when it comes to obtaining justice for all.
Sunday, 1 May 2011
Blue Labour should not denigrate the past
Blue Labour must learn from Labour's past not simply denigrate it.
The latest idea to spring forth in this era of Big Society politics is that of Blue Labour. In simple terms it could be summarised as a left response to the Big Society agenda.The main architects of the idea are academic Maurice Glasman, Labour MP Jon Cruddas and Mark Stears, an Oxford University academic.Professor Glasman developed the idea out of his own experiences with community organising in London Citizens. Based on the principles of US academic Saul Alinksy, community organising brings together faith communities, student bodies, trade unions and others. Community organising focuses on bringing large numbers of people together to exert pressure on public and private bodies to achieve the aims set by the membership. There have been successful London Citizens campaigns arising from the grass roots including the living wage and Strangers into Citizens campaign, which aims for a regularisation of undocumented workers.Blue Labour is defined as a small-C conservative form of socialism that attempts to return to the roots of the pre-1945 Labour Party through encouraging the political involvement of voluntary groups from trade unions through churches to football clubs. Put simply its flag, faith and family a mixture of social conservatism and economic interventionism. "The resources for Labour's renewal lie within the practices and history of the Labour movement. Blue Labour reminds the party that only democratic association can resist the power of capital and that the distinctive practices of the Labour movement are built upon reciprocity, mutuality and solidarity," says Professor Glasman, who talks of getting away from the commodification of labour by finance and the need for the democratisation and regulation of capital. The attraction of the idea to the Labour Party leadership is no doubt its effort to win back what are perceived as parts of the working class that have been lost, while retaining those parts of the middle class (or middle england) which according to new labour folk law have been won over. Not surprising then perhaps to find former Blairite work and pensions minister James Purnell supporting the new movement. He believes the way forward is a combination of new and blue labour.Blue Labour attacks both New and Old Labour. Glasman accuses New Labour of just letting the market run wild, unregulated. Then, the withdrawal by New Labour from the economy led to a manic embrace of the state. "New Labour's public sector reforms were almost Maoist in their conception of year zero managerial restructuring," said Professor Glasman who typifies the New Labour approach to the economy as at best managerialist."Old Labour was worse. Entirely disengaged from democracy in the economy, its renewal in our cities or in the party and held in thrall by an administrative and rational conception of the state and the use of scientific method to achieve its ends, by the 1970s it could barely generate the energy to win an election, let alone redistribute power to ordinary people," says Professor Glasman.The danger here is that the Blue Labour supporters themselves adopt something of a return to year zero approach, denying history. It is not a very progressive way to move forward by claiming all that what went before was wrong. Some of the democratising of industry ideas Glasman alleges to promote were closest to fruition when Tony Benn was an energy and industry minister in the Wilson and Callaghan governments of the 1970s. It was a time when there was some genuine democratisation of the workplace beginning to take place, with legislation like the Equalities Act passing onto the statute book.It is wrong to denigrate the state, as it was the very vehicle that produced the NHS, the welfare state, decent comprehensive education and helped alleviate poverty.Similarly there seems to be an underplaying of the role of trade unions in community terms. Despite the media rhetoric, trade unions have been and remain some of the most democratic organisations in the land. They play a vital role linking to all the parts of community that Blue Labour believes so important. It was the unions who came out in their 100,000s recently to demonstrate against the government's cuts agenda. There needs to be a more nuanced approach from Blue Labour as to where the trade unions fit into this brave new world.Cruddas has been a favourite of the unions for years, supported by many of them in his bid to become deputy leader of the party three years ago. He understands the trade union movement and will no doubt have ideas as to where they would fit into the blue labour project. His own positioning in Blue Labour makes perfect sense, declaring recently that he was "a big fan of the big society." And in terms of his own formation, highlighting that Bobby Kennedy and Pope John XXIII played more important roles than Keir Hardy and other Labour Party luminaries. Cruddas and the other promoters of Blue Labour will have a careful line to tread if their ideas are to resonate with the wider labour movement. The unions cannot be alienated. The role of the state cannot be denigrated, the argument has to be for a new type of state not anti statism. The other danger for Blue Labour is that it just does not define clearly enough what it stands for, in steering a course between new and blue it could end up a mere child of the ill fated third way, much trumpeted previously by Blair and Clinton. There does no doubt need to be a way found to create the broad tent that Labour used to occupy across the races and classes. Plotting such a path though must involve learning the lessons of the past in order to build for the future, not simply adopting the position of the historical amnesiac.
The latest idea to spring forth in this era of Big Society politics is that of Blue Labour. In simple terms it could be summarised as a left response to the Big Society agenda.The main architects of the idea are academic Maurice Glasman, Labour MP Jon Cruddas and Mark Stears, an Oxford University academic.Professor Glasman developed the idea out of his own experiences with community organising in London Citizens. Based on the principles of US academic Saul Alinksy, community organising brings together faith communities, student bodies, trade unions and others. Community organising focuses on bringing large numbers of people together to exert pressure on public and private bodies to achieve the aims set by the membership. There have been successful London Citizens campaigns arising from the grass roots including the living wage and Strangers into Citizens campaign, which aims for a regularisation of undocumented workers.Blue Labour is defined as a small-C conservative form of socialism that attempts to return to the roots of the pre-1945 Labour Party through encouraging the political involvement of voluntary groups from trade unions through churches to football clubs. Put simply its flag, faith and family a mixture of social conservatism and economic interventionism. "The resources for Labour's renewal lie within the practices and history of the Labour movement. Blue Labour reminds the party that only democratic association can resist the power of capital and that the distinctive practices of the Labour movement are built upon reciprocity, mutuality and solidarity," says Professor Glasman, who talks of getting away from the commodification of labour by finance and the need for the democratisation and regulation of capital. The attraction of the idea to the Labour Party leadership is no doubt its effort to win back what are perceived as parts of the working class that have been lost, while retaining those parts of the middle class (or middle england) which according to new labour folk law have been won over. Not surprising then perhaps to find former Blairite work and pensions minister James Purnell supporting the new movement. He believes the way forward is a combination of new and blue labour.Blue Labour attacks both New and Old Labour. Glasman accuses New Labour of just letting the market run wild, unregulated. Then, the withdrawal by New Labour from the economy led to a manic embrace of the state. "New Labour's public sector reforms were almost Maoist in their conception of year zero managerial restructuring," said Professor Glasman who typifies the New Labour approach to the economy as at best managerialist."Old Labour was worse. Entirely disengaged from democracy in the economy, its renewal in our cities or in the party and held in thrall by an administrative and rational conception of the state and the use of scientific method to achieve its ends, by the 1970s it could barely generate the energy to win an election, let alone redistribute power to ordinary people," says Professor Glasman.The danger here is that the Blue Labour supporters themselves adopt something of a return to year zero approach, denying history. It is not a very progressive way to move forward by claiming all that what went before was wrong. Some of the democratising of industry ideas Glasman alleges to promote were closest to fruition when Tony Benn was an energy and industry minister in the Wilson and Callaghan governments of the 1970s. It was a time when there was some genuine democratisation of the workplace beginning to take place, with legislation like the Equalities Act passing onto the statute book.It is wrong to denigrate the state, as it was the very vehicle that produced the NHS, the welfare state, decent comprehensive education and helped alleviate poverty.Similarly there seems to be an underplaying of the role of trade unions in community terms. Despite the media rhetoric, trade unions have been and remain some of the most democratic organisations in the land. They play a vital role linking to all the parts of community that Blue Labour believes so important. It was the unions who came out in their 100,000s recently to demonstrate against the government's cuts agenda. There needs to be a more nuanced approach from Blue Labour as to where the trade unions fit into this brave new world.Cruddas has been a favourite of the unions for years, supported by many of them in his bid to become deputy leader of the party three years ago. He understands the trade union movement and will no doubt have ideas as to where they would fit into the blue labour project. His own positioning in Blue Labour makes perfect sense, declaring recently that he was "a big fan of the big society." And in terms of his own formation, highlighting that Bobby Kennedy and Pope John XXIII played more important roles than Keir Hardy and other Labour Party luminaries. Cruddas and the other promoters of Blue Labour will have a careful line to tread if their ideas are to resonate with the wider labour movement. The unions cannot be alienated. The role of the state cannot be denigrated, the argument has to be for a new type of state not anti statism. The other danger for Blue Labour is that it just does not define clearly enough what it stands for, in steering a course between new and blue it could end up a mere child of the ill fated third way, much trumpeted previously by Blair and Clinton. There does no doubt need to be a way found to create the broad tent that Labour used to occupy across the races and classes. Plotting such a path though must involve learning the lessons of the past in order to build for the future, not simply adopting the position of the historical amnesiac.
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