Essential = Minimum Wage (or thereabouts)

[Khione]

Outside Emergency Services

What proportion of jobs that are now being recognised as essential workers are paid minimum wage (or close)

To me it is seeming very apparent that the most essential jobs seem to be minimum wage and the higher the wages the less essential the job is.

Okay - the second half is more debatable BUT It really does seem that we have got so mixed up that a majority of jobs that most consider essential are also at the lowest end of the pay scale.

How fucked up is that?

(I knew it already but the current situation makes it even more stark)

What do you mean by essential? If you mean key workers then not really, teachers, doctors and some financial people on the list and they aren't minimum wage. (Still a wide range of wages though)

A large proportion of the visible workers essential to containing the outbreak are on minimum wage, true. But they couldn't do their jobs without the engineer that designed the ventilator, or the scientists developing the drugs etc. In the short term some of these things can be temporarily suspended or shut down (as the engineering design for the ventilator is already complete for example), but their work is still essential, surely?

Or how about the people organising the logistics of geting food to the supermarkets because our buying habits have now changed? I bet they aren't minimum wage. But their work is essential for ensuring that people don't have to go from shop to shop spreading the virus further than they would if they just went to a single supermarket

I agree, think of the essential cleaners, shop staff, nursery workers, HCAs care workers etc
All essential and all on almost minimum wage

The vast majority of supermarket workers aren’t on minimum wage.

I'm a support worker in a small home with vulnerable adults.

Classed as a frontline worker.

£9 per hour.

I definitely agree that the higher the wage the less essential the job is!

We were chatting about this yesterday and we decided, barring doctors, the cut off was 40k. After 40k, no bugger needs us!

I have a weird dual life as carer and software developer - there's suddenly a WILD inversion in the general approbation for those two roles. Perhaps this is a wakeup call about what we choose to value as a society.

That's why BJ said that schools should take children if only one parent was a key worker. If all the key workers didn't work due to having to looking after children to support their higher earning partners, we'd be screwed......

*We were chatting about this yesterday and we decided, barring doctors, the cut off was 40k. grin After 40k, no bugger needs us!

I have a weird dual life as carer and software developer - there's suddenly a WILD inversion in the general approbation for those two roles. Perhaps this is a wakeup call about what we choose to value as a society.*

But depending on which area you software develop in, software and tech work is needed key (see pp comment on invisible work). Who is trying to keep websites working under increased demand? who is trying to keep servers up and internet functioning? Who is trying to ensure Skype, zoom, WebEx etc cope with increased demand? Who is keeping the IT systems going so frontline networkers can do their jobs?

I would modify it to being essential workers who have to keep working in public seem to include lots of minimum wageage employees (outside medical professionals and teaching - and they are working harder/ for longer hours). I am not convinced frontline essential workers are paid enough to compensate for the fact that they cannot retreat home in a time of crisis.

Oh aye I definitely meant this 100% in every circumstance.

As binary as binary. You can tell by the emojis how deadly serious I was.