Tag Archives: jimmy hill

Stephen Tall

Time for the Lib Dems to blow the final whistle on national wage settlements

By Stephen Tall | Sun 18th March 2012 - 2:25 pm

It’s over 50 years since the campaign by Jimmy Hill, then chairman of the Professional Footballers’ Association, successfully scrapped the maximum wage which operated throughout the football league until 1961. Some probably lament the commercialisation of the game which it set in motion. But the idea that individuals should have a ceiling placed on their wage-earning potential by the authorities seems quaintly absurd today.

Except in the public sector. If you’re paid by the government — if, for example, you work in schools, colleges and universities, or the civil service and local government — then your wages are defined by national pay rates determined by Whitehall and trade union negotiations. It doesn’t matter which part of the country you work, you operate within that centrally-set national pay framework. It is as quaint and as absurd as the wage rules of football were half a century ago.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , , , and | 97 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Mark
    It would be great if next year Lib Dem Voice really promotes and informs members about early bird registration rates. Conference is expensive. We need to ensu...
  • theakes
    Apparently the BMA only represents 25% of Senior Doctors....
  • PM
    @ Peter Davies, "The ECB did not end up responsible for Greek debt" ??? The ECB /EU bailed out Greece to the extent of €300 billion between...
  • expats
    Mathew Hulber......Doctors Deserve Fair Pay, Not Government Condemnation,,,,, I stand firmly with the doctors preparing to strike next month. They aren’t dema...
  • Slamdac
    @Alex am aware of that, and that is why they are paid well over £100,000 of taxpayer's money. In a time where we are asking taxpayers to pay more and more, ...