It used to be that if you said, “I’m going to Asda to see the Greens,” you were popping across to the Isle of Dogs supermarket to see if they had any cabbage. But this week, if you’re in Norwich, you can go to the Asda store and see Natalie Bennett, the new Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, challenging Asda about their payments policy.
First, Natalie will be calling on Asda – and other supermarkets – to start paying their staff the “living wage”. While the National Minimum Wage is £6.19 for over 21 year olds, the independent calculations suggest that staff should be paid at least £7.20 an hour (outside London) to make ends meet. This rate is known as the “living wage” and a range of trade unions and independent organisations are campaigning for employers to adopt it. The argument is that companies, which have seen the levels of corporation tax fall in recent years, should use some of their profits to increase wages. This reduces the amount of benefits (such as Working Families Tax Credit) which the state has to pay, as well as increasing the amount of tax being paid by the worker. Staff have more money in their pockets and will buy more – thus boosting demand and the economy, as more jobs are created to meet the demand. A number of finance companies have already started paying the living wage, and campaigners argue that other companies should follow in their footsteps.
Public sector bodies have also begun paying the living wage. Tower Hamlets was the first Council to pay its staff the living wage and is leading the way in making contractors pay the living wage too. Queen Mary, University of London, has also started paying the living wage to its cleaners, whom it has just bought back in-house after a period contracting out the service. The College has seen a great improvement in standards of cleaning since doing this, as well paid staff who feel they are a part of the College, are in a position to put more energy and enthusiasm into their work.
Second, Natalie Bennett will also be calling on Asda to pay a fair price to farmers. She will be joined by trade unionists and local Green Party members.
Natalie explained the Green Party case: “Everyone should get a living wage, one that allows a basic decent standard of life from a normal working week. With their huge profits, supermarkets could be leading the way. But Asda and other supermarkets refuse to guarantee a fair wage for people working in their stores. The big supermarkets also refuse to pay farmers a fair price for their produce, putting many small farmers out of business. The increasing power and dominance of supermarkets is making the situation worse. We are fighting for a fair deal for farmers and for all workers.”