Tory MP Philip Davies

[David Johnson]

"If you actually took off your, "I'm a fanatic" hat, just for a moment, what Davies said wasn't that bad at all."

And from the government
"A Downing Street spokesman stated: The Government would reject any suggestion for disabled people to be able to opt out of the national minimum wage. The aim of the national minimum wage is to establish fairness in the workplace and one of its key principles is to protect the most vulnerable workers.?

Bloody fanatic in Downing Street!

And re. your comment earlier in the thread
"I don't think he thought it through, which is what eccentrics have a tendency to do. "

Well he is still sticking to this idea a day or two later as well as his long held view that there should be no minimum wage legislation for any worker, disabled or not.

You may call him "eccentric" I wouldn't.

CHeers
D

[andy at handiwork]

Jim wrote:
'The thing to do would be to actually canvass the disabled and see what they thought.'

A disabled charity spokesperson, interviewed on Newsnight last night, said that her organisation and others HAD canvassed many people who would be treated as 2nd class citizens under this proposal, and the overwhelming reply was that it is a dreadful idea.

[David Johnson]

Hi Andy
Can't say I am surprised. if you select any group that is different from the majority either on disability, race, sexuality and say to them, how do you feel about being discriminated against, I would have thought that they wouldn't have been too keen.

They should be paid the full rate for the job but as Jimbo sort of suggested, potential employers should be made available of government support that can be obtained.

What shouldn't happen is that disabled people be treated as "second rate" workers, requiring second rate pay.

Cheers
D

[andy at handiwork]

Given the right assistance, a disabled person can be as 'efficient', as you charmingly put it, as anyone else. For the type of jobs that would be appropriate there are many things that an employer can do that would allow disabled people to do the job as well as others. Imagine the fuss the Mail or Express would kick up if, as a natural consequence of this deeply unpleasant measure, lets say, disabled returnees from the war in Afghanistan were offered any less than the minimum wage for a job in civvy street. If it would be as unfair for them as it would be for others.

[David Johnson]

Hi Andy,
I think there may be another agenda here. The government is going through a vast assessment process of disabled people on disability benefits to see if people are fit for work.

This follows on from the previous government's plans. However the current process involves some kid using a bit of software to assess the disabled. A substantial number of people get passed as being fit for work, but often this is overturned at appeal. A typical example would be people with terminal cancer being passed.

At the same time there is a huge privatisation process going on where companies will be paid in terms of results in getting the unemployed back to work. In the world of Philip Davies, wouldn't it be so much easier to get these people working if there was no minimum wage?

Cheers
D

[David Johnson]

Ah yes, a return to the good, old days!

[img]http://www.artofeurope.com/hogarth/gin-lane.jpg[/img]

In the unlikely event that you are serious, what you suggest is not going to happen.

1. It would be electoral suicide for any major UK party nor is it the view of any party.
2. The current minimum wage is close to a starvation wage anyway. In London for example, the majority of people on housing benefit are actually working. By getting rid of the minimum wage, the very small number of people prepared to work on such wages, would need a lot of extra benefits to prevent starving to death in the streets which is not a good look for any British government in power.

Cheers
D

[wayne]

So by lowering the wages we can compete with countries where a cup of rice is a daily wage.

Of course the companies would love it it would help boost their profits no end and then of course the (which they have to now) tax payer has to subsidise the employers who pay minium wage by paying housing benefit/tax credits so gets them off the hook.