FIRST THEY IGNORE YOU: Part Four - The fight for a minimum wage
Reasons Revisited
Geoff Lloyd
4.8 • 2.6K Ratings
🗓️ 13 December 2021
⏱️ 60 minutes
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Summary
In the fourth and final episode about how progressive victories were won, we're taking a look at the introduction of the national minimum wage. It feels unthinkable now that there shouldn't be a minimum rate that workers are paid, but it wasn't too long ago that hourly rates of £1 or £1.50 were commonplace. The road to a national minimum wage was long and winding but campaigning, persuasive leadership, new academic thinking all helped to create something that's become part of the fabric of working life in the UK.
To help us understand the history of the labour market, what pre-minimum wage Britain was like, and who the key players were in the fight we're joined by historian Sheila Blackburn, Honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Liverpool. We're also honoured to be joined by Margaret Beckett MP who served as Secretary of State for Trade & Industry under Tony Blair from 1997 and also by Gavin Kelly, Chair of the Living Wage Commission who joins us to talk about where the minimum and living wage conversation goes from here.
Plus, Geoff asks Ed for advice on some split loyalties between his wife, and the dry cleaner.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Our sponsor for this episode is Big Issue, changing lives through enterprise. |
| 0:04.7 | And you can support that by subscribing. |
| 0:06.8 | You don't need me to explain that the cost of living crisis is impact in the poorest people |
| 0:11.4 | the most. |
| 0:12.4 | And that means it's tough for Big Issue vendors. |
| 0:14.6 | They are in the living from selling the magazine, and they're heading into winter facing |
| 0:19.6 | uncertainty about that living. |
| 0:22.4 | When you're unable to visit a local vendor, the next best thing is to take a subscription. |
| 0:28.7 | When you do that, you're supporting Big Issues frontline teams. |
| 0:32.8 | These are the people working with vendors one-on-one, providing critical, emotional and social |
| 0:38.6 | support and empowering them to achieve financial stability and overcome personal disadvantage. |
| 0:45.0 | Big Issue have an introductory subscription offer for you. |
| 0:49.4 | £6 for your first month. |
| 0:51.1 | And that means you'll receive an award-winning magazine each week. |
| 0:54.3 | It's home to leading voices in politics, culture and social activism. |
| 0:59.5 | It is sometimes easy to forget how good the magazine is in its own right. |
| 1:05.2 | Now renewals are at the rate of £12 a month. |
| 1:08.8 | And once again, all the profits from subscriptions are invested into the vital work that frontline |
| 1:14.7 | teams do to support Big Issue vendors. |
| 1:17.9 | If you can't visit a local vendor, support them with a subscription. |
| 1:22.4 | Take your first month for just £6 which can cancel anytime. |
| 1:26.7 | Visit Big Issue.com forward slash cheerful. |
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