Month: October 2016

Mike Buchanan’s interview in relation to the Ched Evans case

/ Mike Buchanan / 2 Comments

Yesterday morning, before setting off for a protest led by The Forgotten Man, about the rape culture myth, outside the Head Office of the CPS – a video will be published in due course – I was interviewed by Kaye Adams for her show on BBC Radio Scotland. Ms Adams is, needless to say, a feminist, and our exchanges in the past have at times been strained. But on this occasion she was far more cordial and willing to consider the points I (and others) were making.

The audio file is here, and will be available on iPlayer for the next 29 days. The relevant section of the show is 5:40 – 1:00:00. Kaye introduces me at 10:54, and returns to me after a break at 38:00, at which point I was breathless from descending and ascending numerous flights of steps. I really must get to the gym more often…

If everyone who read this gave us just £1 – or even better, £1 monthly – we could change the world. Click here to make a difference. Thanks.

Asda faces £100 million bill after thousands of women get the go ahead to claim for equal pay in employment tribunal ‘victory’

/ Mike Buchanan / 4 Comments

Outrageous. From the article:

The case was brought on behalf of a group of women, mainly in hourly paid jobs in stores, comparing their pay to mainly male staff in distribution depots.

I worked as an executive for some years in the logistics sector, including three very happy years with Exel Logistics, and the idea that there’s an equivalence between the demands faced by shop workers and warehouse workers is ridiculous to me. Whenever possible I check out my own groceries in Tesco, Lidl etc. – not Waitrose, obviously, on the grounds of my financial situation – and I save time because the queues are shorter, and I scan goods faster than most store staff. I wouldn’t dream of claiming that I could today (at 58) physically carry out the demands required of warehouse workers.

Also, warehouse workers are often required to work unsocial hours, including night shifts. Such considerations are invariably missing from ‘equal pay for work of equal value’ claims, to the benefit of women, as are risk, unpleasantness of working environment – e.g. warehouses for chilled or frozen produce – time spent away from home…

The bottom line?

If women working in Asda stores (or other stores) want the pay of warehouse workers, they should… er… become warehouse workers. They will find no ‘glass ceiling’ there (or anywhere else, for that matter).

It wouldn’t be long before most of the women would be clamouring to return to sitting on their backsides ‘working’, checking bags of crisps over scanners.

If everyone who read this gave us just £1 – or even better, £1 monthly – we could change the world. Click here to make a difference. Thanks.