Football Clubs Won’t Pay Living Wage
Both our premier league clubs are refusing to pay the living wage, meaning some of their staff have to declare themselves in poverty.
Both our premier league clubs are refusing to pay the living wage, meaning some of their staff have to declare themselves in poverty.
That's according to a former Newcastle United worker who we’ve kept anonymous, she said her job at the club was the worst she's ever had.
“Players come and go and managers come and go but it’s actually the staff that makes that club go around and they are having to go to the government to get benefits and council tax help... housing benefits and everything else.
“Suddenly you come to a point in your life where your priorities change. I looked around and thought what am I doing? I'm very undervalued here. I just started looking around and found a job that paid me an awful lot more and valued me an awful lot better."
It's as campaigners say they're planning to protest in Newcastle with hopes for Newcastle United and Sunderland A.F.C to pay their staff the living wage.
End Foul Pay is a national campaign led by the GMB union. It’s calling on professional football league clubs to pay at least a living wage of £7.85 to all their employees.
Tim Roache is the campaign’s founder. He said:
"It's a scandal a Newcastle United are not paying their staff a living wage. The club is in the top 20 wealthiest clubs on the planet, the Premier League has just won a £5 billion TV deal and Mike Ashley himself is worth over £3 billion by latest estimates. The idea that Newcastle United couldn't afford to pay £7.85 an hour is ridiculous.”
"We know that more than 8 in 10 football fans think clubs should pay a living wage and it's time they stopped taking everyone else for mugs. When there is so much money in the game, why should the taxpayer pick up the tab for in-work benefits and tax credits for the club's poorly paid workers? We're not against the players being paid good money, but football is a team sport and at the very least those off the pitch deserve a wage they can live off too."
Neil Foster, Policy and Campaigns Officer for the TUC Northern Region, told Metro Radio that they’re fighting for it alongside the GMB.
- “There are many others who still aren’t’ paying it and we think particularly in the case of Newcastle united, run by one of the richest people in this country, we think there’s absolutely not excuse for paying poverty wages.”*
“This is causing a lot of hardship in work and their wages having to be topped up by the taxpayer through in work support and tax credits. It’s absolutely incredible that you’ve still got football clubs who aren’t going to do the right thing.”
A spokesperson for Newcastle United said:
“The board said that it does not pay the living wage but it does abide by employment law as per legislation set by the government and pay the minimum wage. The club advised supporters to speak to their local MPs with a view to the government changing the law and raising the national minimum wage if they believed it beneficial for the UK.”
“It was felt that the issue was one for all commerce and society as a whole rather than purely for football, which politicians often target without knowing or researching clubs' significant contributions to their communities. Newcastle United Foundation continues to operate programmes that boost the skills and employability of thousands of young people and adults across the city each year.”
For more information about the campaign visit www.endfoulpay.org.uk