Category Archives: Wealth inequality

Living Wage Foundation brings its annual announcement forward

Posted on October 12, 2022 by Paul Evans

As reported here in the summer, The Living Wage Foundation has brought forward their announcement of the annual Living Wage/London Living Wage increase. The new figures are £10.90 (90p increase)/£11.95 (£1 increase) respectively – the largest ever annual increase (last … Continue reading →

Posted in Inflation, Low pay, Minimum wage rates, Pay & inflation, Wages and Pay-rates, Wealth inequality | Tagged , | Leave a comment

July inflation figures. There’s no good news here…

Posted on August 17, 2022 by Paul Evans

By now you will probably have seen this morning’s announcements about July’s inflation rates. CPI has reached 10.1% (RPI = 12.3% and CPIH = 8.8%). The Bank of England is predicting that it could go as high as 13% thanks … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing costs, Inflation, Low pay, Pay & inflation, Wages and Pay-rates, Wealth inequality | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Getting the current cost-of-living crisis in perspective

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Paul Evans

How can we understand the current cost of living crisis in perspective when talking to Bectu members about their wages? One way would be to look at it over a few years. In the past few days, coincidentally, I’ve had … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Freelance working, Inflation, Low pay, Pay & inflation, Wages and Pay-rates, Wealth inequality, Welfare and benefits | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Diversity and equal opportunities in TV and radio – Ofcom reporting

Posted on November 3, 2021 by Paul Evans

Ofcom recently published their five-year review on diversity and equal opportunities in TV and Radio [pdf]. It’s an interesting one because a few things are gradually coming together now. So, for example, on disability, they now are able to see … Continue reading →

Posted in Disability equality, Diversity of representation, Equality, Gender equality, Gender representation, Race equality, Wealth inequality | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

National Living Wage will rise to £9.50 an hour

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Paul Evans

The 59p increase for workers over 23 – up 6.6% from £8.91 reflects the inflationary pressure outlined here a few weeks ago. The new rates will rise from 1 April 2022 as follows: National Living Wage for over-23s: From £8.91 … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Inflation, Low pay, Minimum wage rates, National Insurance Contributions (NICs), Pay & inflation, Tax, Trades Unions, Wages and Pay-rates, Wealth inequality | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Directors Guild of America approach to diversity

Posted on October 12, 2021 by Paul Evans

Janice Turner has forwarded me some interesting stuff from one of our union kin in the US, The Directors Guild of America (DGA). Their mission statement includes a dual focus: Cultural diversity is reflected in the stories that Directors tell … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture policy, Diversity of representation, Equality, Gender equality, Gender representation, Race equality, Wealth inequality | Tagged | Leave a comment

Cultural Diversity is not just about limiting discrimination – it’s an economic and industrial factor

Posted on September 10, 2021 by Paul Evans

It’s worth bookmarking Unesco’s Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions here. This is an important global statement on the need for cultural expressions to be produced, distributed, and owned ‘locally’ (in the Nations and … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC, Disability equality, Diversity of representation, Economics, Equality, EU & Brexit, Factual & Entertainment sector data, Feature film data, Film & TV industry data, Gender equality, Gender representation, High End TV data, Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, Race equality, Regulation, SVoD, Tax incentives, UK studios, Wealth inequality | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Facebook accused of aiding recruitment bias

Posted on September 10, 2021 by Paul Evans

This, following a tip-off from Paul McManus in Bectu’s Glasgow office: A Global Witness investigation has uncovered evidence that Facebook’s ad targeting may be in breach of UK equality and data protection laws. “In April 2020 [an] ad for job openings … Continue reading →

Posted in Diversity of representation, Equality, Gender equality, Gender pay, Gender representation, Race equality, Wealth inequality | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Class based exclusion in the creative sector

Posted on September 10, 2021 by Paul Evans

In a huge wake-up call for the creative sector, the (NESTA) Creative Industries Policy and Research Centre have published a damning report on class-based exclusion. The UK’s #CreativeIndustries would need to employ 250,000 more working-class people to be as socio … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality, Low pay, Minimum wage rates, Skills & capacity, Wages and Pay-rates, Wealth inequality, Welfare and benefits | Tagged | Leave a comment

Lower pay in the performing arts

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Paul Evans

One of the biggest factors adversely affecting diversity in the cultural sector is low pay at the entry level – effectively excluding entrants on lower incomes. 🎭Those in the performing and creative arts face the lowest salaries after graduating. 📉They … Continue reading →

Posted in Diversity of representation, Economics, Employment, Low pay, Race equality, Wages and Pay-rates, Wealth inequality | Tagged | Leave a comment

Ofcom on industry’s diversity obligations

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Paul Evans

The broadcasters have an “existential” obligation to improve social class and geographical representation, according to Ofcom’s @dawes_melanie https://t.co/YVhtUXKi7K pic.twitter.com/M7egqNZJ84 — Broadcast (@Broadcastnow) July 19, 2021  

Posted in Diversity of representation, Equality, Film & TV industry policy, Low pay, Regulation, Wealth inequality | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Culture of nepotism and inequality in the film industry

Posted on July 1, 2021 by Paul Evans

There are ‘diversity and inclusion – how are we doing?’ reports and lots of other useful diversity reports on the BFI website – here. There’s also a Disability Inclusion project here. Searching around there’s also this news report from four years … Continue reading →

Posted in Disability equality, Equality, Film & TV industry policy, Wealth inequality | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Has the Covid epidemic altered workers’ retirement plans?

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Paul Evans

The FT is reporting that, as a result of Covid-19, nearly 1/3rd of workers over 50 (who aren’t already retired) either delayed their expected retirement date (by an average of three years) or given up altogether trying to second guess … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus, Economics, Pensions, Wealth inequality | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Is “Supply supply supply” not the housing policy fix people think it is?

Posted on June 14, 2021 by Paul Evans

With property prices being one of the biggest drivers of inequality, this thread (lots of tweets, lots of arguments) challenges idea that we just need to build more homes. Why SupplySupplySupply won’t solve the #housing affordability problem #1 ‘we are … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Equality, Wealth inequality | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Low-paid most likely to be unemployed when furlough ends.

Posted on June 14, 2021 by Paul Evans

Low-paid workers face the highest risk of losing their jobs when the UK government’s furlough scheme ends in September, according to analysis by the Resolution Foundation.

Posted in CJRS & SEISS, Coronavirus, Employment, Wealth inequality | Tagged , | Leave a comment