Talking-up Scotland

  

In the Herald today:

It’s labelled as an Online article. Does that mean it did not make the print version’s different audience? It has no author credited. Does that mean no one wanted to be associated with good news for Scotland? It’s behind the paywall but you can read the content at the Halstead Gazette from deep in Tory Essex. Here are the key points:

Workers in Scotland are less likely to earn under the Living Wage than those anywhere else in the UK outside the south east of England, new research indicates.

The real Living Wage currently sits at £8.75 per hour outside London, where it is £10.20 per hour.

A study conducted by IHS Markit for professional services firm KPMG, found 19% of employees in Scotland earned under the Living Wage, compared to 22% across the UK as a whole.

The area where workers were most likely not to be paid the voluntary rate was joint between Northern Ireland and the East Midlands, both at 26%.

Scotland has the lowest proportion of female workers earning under the Living Wage at 22%, compared to 27% across the UK, however the UK figure remains 10 percentage points above that of male workers.

https://www.halsteadgazette.co.uk/news/national/17199903.rate-of-workers-in-scotland-paid-less-than-the-living-wage-is-below-uk-average/

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/17199966.rate-of-workers-in-scotland-paid-less-than-the-living-wage-is-below-uk-average/

But, but, but. Don’t get carried away. Things are of course worse than it seems, and Steven Naysayer is the man to convert things. Yesterday, if you’d been paying attention, you’d have seen the downside to Scotland’s workers getting the living wage. Here it is:

The content of the piece was predictable:

‘Care charities are facing a crisis over implementing the living wage, because of the chaotic way the Scottish Government policy has been introduced, a new report has revealed.’

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/17200220.care-charities-fear-impact-of-living-wage-increase/

The ‘crisis’ is of course a crisis because the charities say it is and the ‘chaotic’ handling by the Scottish government should read: ‘Show us the money!’ So, paying less than the charities want is evidence of chaos?

Our Nomedia have, of course, ignored this story just as they did these earlier pieces of good news on wages in Scotland:

Are Scotland’s employers also different – more willing to pay a decent wage?

Wages growing faster in Scotland than in non-Scottish parts of the UK

Another step on the way to becoming a ‘Living Wage Nation’ and a ‘Better Nation?’

With 1 in 4 living wage employers already in Scotland, the Scottish Government aims to make this a ‘Living Wage Nation’

8% of the UK population and 28% of living wage employers. More evidence that we are different enough to want to run the whole show?

80 000 lowest paid workers in NHS England still on poverty wages as NHS Scotland follows Scottish Government policy to pay a living wage to all public-sector employees