Farm workers protest over wage changes (From Witney Gazette)
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Farm workers protest over wage changes
9:10am Friday 4th January 2013 in News
Farm workers protest over wage changes
FARM workers were out in force in Oxford yesterday to protest about changes to their wage structure.
At the moment their pay is set by the Agricultural Wages Board but this is due to be scrapped by the Government and farm workers will be paid the national minimum wage.
The current set-up means farm workers are paid over six grades based on qualifications and experience with pay ranging from £6.21 an hour to £9.40 an hour.
Non-farm workers paid the national minimum wage receive £6.19 an hour.
A protest against the changes took place outside the Oxford Farming Conference in the Oxford University Examination Schools in High Street.
Steve Leniec, a farm worker from Faringdon and chairman of Unite’s agricultural sector, said: “It will be a disaster for our workers and for the rural economy.
“Farming is an industry in which we are expected to work in all weathers seven days a week and living in any rural community is more expensive.”
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Owen Paterson, who attended the conference, said: “This has long been coalition policy. We now have a minimum wage and a whole raft of employment legislation.”
He added that he had gone in through a different door and had not seen the protesters.
Comments(6)
Sandy Wimpole-Smythe
says...
10:13am Fri 4 Jan 13
What a wimp. They are all quite happy to take from the low paid, disabled etc but to actually face them, you must be joking.
Roll on the day when their heads are on poles around the outskirts of London as a reminder to all governments that you cannot treat the electorate like this without it biting you in the arse at some point.
Mick Pollek
says...
11:33am Fri 4 Jan 13
They are so angry that they can't go a-hunting and a-killing of furry animals.
Andrew:Oxford
says...
1:16pm Fri 4 Jan 13
Mick Pollek wrote:Agricultural workers aren't usually anti-hunt... In fact, I'd say that of all the game-keepers I've ever spoken to - none were anti-hunt.
not only was he afraid to enter through the front door, somebody from inside had phoned the police, complaining that they were accosted by animal rights activists.
They are so angry that they can't go a-hunting and a-killing of furry animals.
Ivan Monckton
says...
6:46pm Fri 4 Jan 13
1 Paterson is lying. It is NOT longstanding coalition policy to abolish AWB. It was not in coalition agreement, it was not in Lib Dems manifesto. In fact, David Heath, Lib Dem minister who decided to abolish after his own deeply flawed "consultation" showed a big majority to oppose abolition, is on record as supporting an EDM to oppose abolition.
2 Gamekeepers are NOT farmworkers.
Andrew:Oxford
says...
7:35pm Fri 4 Jan 13
Ivan Monckton wrote:If there's red diesel in the land rover and it doesn't leave the esate...
Two messages
1 Paterson is lying. It is NOT longstanding coalition policy to abolish AWB. It was not in coalition agreement, it was not in Lib Dems manifesto. In fact, David Heath, Lib Dem minister who decided to abolish after his own deeply flawed "consultation" showed a big majority to oppose abolition, is on record as supporting an EDM to oppose abolition.
2 Gamekeepers are NOT farmworkers.
It's agriculture.
Bartsimpson_uk says...
9:21am Fri 4 Jan 13