Barclays and RBS justify more pay hikes "to keep our top talent"

SOURCE GUARDIAN: Barclays AGM - shareholders large and small protest over pay and bonusesOne in three shareholders failed to support the bank's remuneration report, which showed that bonuses rose 10% despite a 32% fall in profits. The Barclays chairman, Sir David Walker, had promised a year ago to restrain top pay. One private investor, who expressed his irritation at the bank's dividend payments, poor performance and £5.8bn cash call to bolster its finances last year, told the packed AGM: "We're paying for Manchester United but we are getting...

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10 Second Poll: The recession saw job losses in all age groups. The recovery is seeing these losses reversed, except for the 60-64 age range:

Figures from the DWP (Department of Works and Pensions) show that the number of people on Job Seeker's Allowance (JSA) is falling for all people upto the age of 60. However, people between 60 and 64 years of age are still not getting the jobs they need - they are still nearly 3 times more likely to be on unemployment benefit than they were in the year 2000.Why do you think this is? (You can select upto 2 answers from the poll):What is the reason unemployment among 60-64 year olds is not recovering like everyone else between 18-59?....

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Why do both the Conservatives and Labour push so hard for cuts to taxes and public spending when the British Social Attitudes Survey shows only 1 in 10 Brits want this?

A graph from the 2013 British Social Attitudes (BSA) Survey shows fewer than 1 in 10 Britons have wanted this in the 30 years since 1983. More than 90% have consistently wanted the level of tax & spend to remain the same or to increase.Why does the Conservative Party campaign on lowering taxes and cutting public spending when fewer than 1 in 10 Britons want th...

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Graphs at a glance: ONS, Eurostat and World Bank figures show paying excessive salaries does not bring prosperity to Britons nor to Britain

Normal 0 "the love of money is the root of all evil"1 Timothy 6:10This biblical quote means people aren't bad for nothing: to be really bad they need to be really well paid. Of course not all well paid people are evil, but that's the jist of it.However, if someone tells you paying huge salaries is the only way to hold on to the best people who can make all of us more prosperous, tweet them this post. The statistics show they are wrong.On the day between Good Friday and Easter Day in April 2014 the DailyMail reported: “Barclays has been...

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TNT posties dumping your letters in bushes: Rivals to Royal Mail accused of ditching deliveries to earn more

Fee, Chris and KJ look into the future...SOURCE DAILY MAIL: TNT posties dumping your letters in bushes. Rivals to Royal Mail accused of ditching deliveries to earn moreLetters have been found dumped in undergrowth in Manchester and London. The company’s orange-clad staff are paid according to how quick they are – giving them an incentive to ditch mail. Unlike Royal Mail, which must deliver 93 per cent of first-class letters on the next working day, TNT Post is not subject to strict rules laid down by the industry regulator Ofcom. To add to the...

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Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 24th April)

Vince Cable warns businesses on 'ridiculous' pay awardsAs firms prepare for their annual general meetings, Business Secretary Vince Cable has written to all FTSE 100 members to remind them that pressure on pay awards must be kept up to assuage public anger. He said pay levels at banks in particular had been "ridiculous". He singled out Barclays, which has its shareholder meeting scheduled for Thursday. Last year, Mr Cable introduced rules forcing listed firms to give shareholders a binding vote on directors' pay to make a "clearer link between...

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“We are a Christian country.” What a storm Cameron has kicked up...

SOURCE INDEPENDENT: David Cameron 'fostering alienation and division' by calling Britain a 'Christian country'In an open letter the authors note that while they respect the Prime Minister’s right to religious beliefs as well as the fact that these will “necessarily affect his own life as a politician”, they believe that his characterization will have “negative consequences for politics and society”.SOURCE EXPRESS: David Cameron claims 'Big Society' is the work of JesusThe Conservative leader's vision of Big Society was a cornerstone of his...

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“We are a Christian country.” What a storm Cameron has kicked up...

SOURCE INDEPENDENT: David Cameron 'fostering alienation and division' by calling Britain a 'Christian country'In an open letter the authors note that while they respect the Prime Minister’s right to religious beliefs as well as the fact that these will “necessarily affect his own life as a politician”, they believe that his characterization will have “negative consequences for politics and society”.SOURCE EXPRESS: David Cameron claims 'Big Society' is the work of JesusThe Conservative leader's vision of Big Society was a cornerstone of his...

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Graphs at a glance: April 2014 saw average wages grow faster than average prices. Is the 'cost of living crisis' over?

In April 2014, just before Easter, newspapers including the Express and the Telegraph reported:“March’s UK inflation figures suggest that the six-year squeeze on real earnings is finally over”For the first time in 4 years prices were not rising faster than wages. Were they right about the squeeze being over?Actually, in the 5 years upto March 2014 price rises have outstripped wages in 57 months out of 60.This has left us on average 8% worse off than 5 years ago. ONS figures show the effect this has had on spending. In real terms (at 2012 prices)...

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Wage growth returns. But is the “cost of living” crisis really over?

KJ and Chris get the answer from someone who obviously knows...SOURCE DAILY MAIL: Pay rises scrape ahead of inflation - but only if you work in the private sector AND get an annual bonusWages including bonuses were on average 1.9% higher in February compared to the same month in 2013, said the Office for National Statistics, while the consumer price inflation rate for that period was 1.7%. But pay including bonuses was only 1.7% higher when you look at the three months to February and compare it to the same three months of the previous year, suggesting...

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Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 17th April)

Pay rises scrape ahead of inflation - but only if you work in the private sector AND get an annual bonusWages including bonuses were on average 1.9% higher in February compared to the same month in 2013, said the Office for National Statistics, while the consumer price inflation rate for that period was 1.7%. But pay including bonuses was only 1.7% higher when you look at the three months to February and compare it to the same three months of the previous year, suggesting on this measure that real incomes actually flatlined. Furthermore, public...

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Guest Post from Barnet UNISON, telling a story of outsourcing in pictures and music.

The cartoons included in this guest post from Barnet UNISON were drawn by cartoonist Tim Sanders with lyrics from a UNISON supporter    The “Tale of Bob in Barnet” provides an insight into the challenges facing Barnet UNISON and our members. For the past six years our Barnet UNISON has been engaged in an ideological struggle with our employer over service delivery models. First it was called Future Shape, then EasyCouncil and then One Barnet, and it is now being rebranded as the “Commissioning Council.” Background: Our branch is responsible for almost 3,000 members. In the past the majority of members would have been employed...

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