What's going to happen when essential workers can't afford to get to work?

[noblegiraffe]

I was just reading another thread about cutbacks people are making to deal with the price increases, and some people mentioned WFH or WFH more often to save petrol money on going into the office. Petrol and diesel seem to be going up in price daily with no end in sight.

Public transport isn't cheap either, and prices go up in line with inflation.

Not that public transport is always an option - my school has very poor public transport links.

Obviously everyone is affected by price increases, but with real terms pay cuts promised by the government for several key public sector areas, how are they going to be able to guarantee a workforce that can actually afford to get to work? A couple of teachers leaving my dept for other schools cited cost of commute as a factor.

Thinking of the keyworkers - those who were so essential to the running of the country that they had to go out to work during a pandemic when everyone else had to stay at home. What is the plan to enable them to keep going out to work during this cost of living crisis?

Apologies for not reading through whole thread.

Local government pay rise this year is 1.75% off the back of repeated low rises. Pay is now so low that in the next few year the bottom 10 pay spine points are likely to be wiped out by minimum wage rises and millions of staff will become minimum wage workers likely to need benefits to top up their income.

In the meantime, the jobs themselves have become more demanding. They're not low skilled jobs to start with, often involve irregular working hours and they need the right kind of people to do them.

I predict a huge staffing crisis in the public sector. People who can't afford it will go elsewhere.

The public who rely on services we deliver will be fucked.

I thought similar recently; there’s literally no transport where we live. It’s a new village, if you can’t drive you’re screwed. 4 buses a day and they leave from 10am to 2pm. It’s a reasonably affluent area but people will absolutely be making tough choices soon!

If they don’t do this children will go un-taught, patients will be neglected, operations will be cancelled, and so on, and the electorate will throw the government out on their arse, replacing them with one that promises to fix it.

So you are happy with waiting two years for the electorate to have the opportunity to throw the government out on its arse for failing to deal with this crisis, but you are not happy with workers exercising their legal right to hold their employers to account in an attempt to fix the crisis?

You are happy with children going untaught and patients neglected long term even though you accept that something needs to be done?

And I was under the impression that @noblegiraffe's thread was about what will happen within all these industries if the workers go elsewhere because doing what they are doing is financially untenable. There are other 'how do we make ends meet' threads on the board.

Exactly. Offering me tips on how to make a commute cheaper (while incurring upfront costs that some could simply not afford) isn't going to solve a national problem.

The pandemic illustrated how important it is that certain workers can get to work. Getting to work is getting more and more expensive. Prohibitively expensive in some cases.

Poster have come on this thread working in care and social services saying that their services are being restricted and that they are losing staff.

This is concerning and needs to be addressed.

The NHS band 4's and band 5's where I work are already starting to walk. The hospitality sector is paying more than working as a qualified health care professional. Our trust has also set up a food bank for staff that are now struggling. Our pay increase still hasn't been announced and I'm not sure it will even be enough to make people stay. I also know qualified TAs leaving the profession and working in retail. We shouldn't be in a position where people entrusted with the health and education of the country are paid more in Aldi or the local bar!

I thought that they government was trying to import skilled workers from abroad who don't bring their children over and who are "happy" to live 15 to a house and go home instead of retire in this country.

That way the government can phase out both child care, non private schools and care homes in one fell swoop.

Our trust has also set up a food bank for staff that are now struggling.

This is something else that worries me. The government has been relying on food banks to feed those on v low incomes, at no cost to themselves.

As the price increases hit everyone, donations will reduce (and I've seen people on other threads commenting that they've already cut back) and that support will also be reduced. Will the government step in?

Capitalism kinda falls down if you “only” make the same profit as the previous year.

Workers will continue to suffer until the next election. They will do whatever is necessary to survive. Reduce use of cars, cut housing/utility/food bills, drop subscriptions, stop hobbies or change jobs. There are a ton of threads on MN right now showing what people are doing.

This will continue until the next election where the opposition tell the public to vote for change and promise improved working conditions and then as soon as they are elected will screw over the electorate as always. There is a reason why barely 40% are bothering to vote.

As awful as it sounds we live in a broken democracy and the wealthiest like it like that. All you can do is seek out jobs that work for you and your family. If this means retraining or leaving roles that this is what you need to do.

The current government do not care. I am sure they would change the rules if the teaching shortage increases, so that teachers do not need a degree. Maybe 1 qualified teacher to plan the lessons and then a team to deliver the lesson to pupils (not necessarily qualified).

There aren’t really any things that can be done to address chronic shortages of physical things. The gov’t could print everyone a million pound note to cover their costs, but debasing the currency will land you in even hotter water.

For the first time, the nations that traditionally were exploited by the wealthier ones for their raw materials, will have far more clout if the dollar hegemony collapses. Being able to exchange dollars or pounds or euros for actual goods and services works so long as that system is stable. If it isn’t, well, good luck feeding a population using a money printer.

I don’t think the government have a plan. Looks to me like they’re quite happy for people to strike so they can look to be showing the unions who’s boss. Labour seem happy to watch on criticising people for standing up for themselves with industrial action. I think we’ll see those who are in unions going on strike, those that aren’t getting a worse deal and huge shortages of staff as those who can move to better paid jobs do.

My petrol is now £50 a week, I can’t afford to move closer to work without big downsize. I may start looking at jobs nearer home, a colleague in my dept has just done this.

Where I live is relatively expensive compared with other towns locally but further from London. I was discussing with friends how we all felt local secondary (got outstanding many years ago, now at best quite average) was disappointing us all. Several parents of Y6 trying to figure out alternatives. I wonder if schools like ours will struggle for teachers more than those in less expensive areas. We’re outside London weighting but inside London commute. My dd in Y9, so 3 years in, has had 9 English teachers so far! Several members of staff are on long-term leave.

Reduce use of cars, cut housing/utility/food bills, drop subscriptions, stop hobbies or change jobs.

Which will have a negative impact on the companies that provide those services, increasing chances of a contraction in GDP and recession.

I'm concerned about companies that manufacture or provide discretionary services as they will be the first to struggle.

I'd be inclined to go for job 1 but have another go at negotiating.

It's the job that excites and they've been honest on the money. Trust your gut.

Years ago, I left one job to go to a supplier for only £1k more. Felt like the right decision and within a year I had two pay rises which took me from £18k to £25k. £7k increase in one year way back in 2001.... I never expected that when I accepted the job.

Well, that is most definitely vague and confused!

Wrong thread by any chance @vagueandconfused?