It`s not just northerners being taken for mugs by the political parties. After
Cameron`s feeble attempts to woo female voters with a cabinet reshuffle, now
it`s the turn of the Lib Dems.The sudden concern they have for reducing the
gender pay gap is commendable, but it`s a shame that the issue does not seem to
have bothered them seriously in the last four years.Their idea for larger
companies to "publish the average pay of their male and female workers, or face
fines" does not go far enough.
Firms have been named and shamed for avoiding
tax on an almost daily basis; banks have been shown to have mis-sold insurance
to their loyal customers, and fixed interest rates; many companies lay off
workers so that their new "efficiency" allows them to pay lottery-win-like
bonuses to the CEOs; wages are often so low the taxpayer has to subsidise the
employees.
The truth is that the need for short-term
profits comes before ethics and fairness every time, so the demand for
transparency will make little difference. Without legislation making equal pay
the law, tax avoidance illegal, and the living wage the new minimum wage,
businesses will continue to rip us all off.
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