Latest news with #underpaid
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
'No one wants to be on strike but what I do want is to not be paid less than doctors were in 2008'
Outside Manchester Royal Infirmary a few dozen doctors in orange baseball caps and tabards are waving placards as passing drivers beep their horns in support. 'Overworked, underpaid, undervalued,' reads one hand-drawn sign. 'Pay restoration for doctors,' demand several others A five-day walkout by resident doctors in England got under way today, with members of the British Medical Association manning picket lines across the country. The BMA has argued that real-terms pay has fallen by around 20% since 2008, and is pushing for full 'pay restoration'. READ MORE: LIVE M6 and M56 traffic updates as crashes cause severe delays on both motorways as holiday getaway begins READ MORE: Family of teenager killed in alleged e-bike crash murder call for 'peace' as they issue tribute The union took out national newspaper adverts on Friday, saying it wanted to 'make clear that while a newly qualified doctor's assistant is taking home over £24 per hour, a newly qualified doctor with years of medical school experience is on just £18.62 per hour'. Never miss a story with the MEN's daily Catch Up newsletter - get it in your inbox by signing up here Ross Nieuwoudt, co-chair of the BMA resident doctors committee, was among those manning the MRI picket line today. The 29-year-old, who has been a resident doctor for going on five years, said: "Morale among doctors is mixed. If we didn't have hope that there could be change, we wouldn't be here on strike at all, we would be voting with our feet and leaving the country. "The truth is many doctors are leaving. 7,000 to 9,000 applied to leave the country last year - many have left and the majority of those don't return. Unless something is done about pay and conditions, that is going to continue happening. "There has been a huge amount of support coming by, people coming by to say they support us, reports of patients coming out of hospital to picket lines today to show support. I think support is there but I also fully sympathise with the patients that are worried or concerned or don't support. "No one wants to be on strike - I don't want to - but what I do want is to feel valued and respected and not paid less than doctors were in 2008. All we need is for [Health and Social Care Secretary] Wes Streeting to come to us with a credible offer and a credible next step to restore our pay. Then it can stop right now - that's all we're asking for." Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE Mr Streeting said: "This government is doing all it can over this strike period to minimise patient harm and disruption. Working with NHS leaders, we've put in measures to keep as much urgent and planned care available and safe as we possibly can. "The truth is that patients and NHS staff did not need to be in this position today. Despite a 28.9% pay rise for their members over the last three years, and constructive talks on range of measures to improve the working lives of resident doctors, the BMA leadership chose to walk away from talks and lay the damage at the NHS's door. "There is no getting around the fact that these strikes will hit the progress we are making in turning the NHS around. But I am determined to keep disruption to patients at a minimum and continue with the recovery we have begun delivering in the last 12 months after a decade and a half of neglect. We will not be knocked off course."
SBS Australia
15-07-2025
- Business
- SBS Australia
'Bullying, yelling, sexual harassment, underpaid': study finds one in three young workers are ripped off
Deshal Patel moved to Australia from India for higher education, and sought part-time work to get through her studies. Her first job at a jewellery store paid well below the minimum wage. "I was getting paid $13 an hour. I was getting paid in cash, obviously there was no superannuation or penalty rates when I worked over the weekends. My other co-workers were also getting paid the same rate and we didn't have any formal contract or anything like that." In total, Ms Patel says she worked seven jobs where she was underpaid, and in some cases, mistreated. "Bullying, harassment or your employers yelling at you. I also experienced sexual harassment at some of the workplaces, and my experience is not an isolated incident. I know a lot of my friends, peers and co-workers have experienced something very similar. I hear the story again and again, so I would say this is a widespread problem and not an isolated experience." Ms Patel is among the one in three young workers who have been ripped off by employers, according to a new study. Its co-author is Professor John Howe from Melbourne University's Law School. He says young migrants are among the most vulnerable to workplace exploitation. "So if you're on a visa, then you might be worried, whether rightly or not, about losing that visa if you make a complaint. In the case of people from a non-English speaking background, if their English is not great, they may not understand their rights or may not feel confident enough to raise an issue let alone make a complaint." In a survey of more than 2,800 workers under 30, the study found a third of respondents were paid $15 per hour or less. 36 per cent weren't allowed to take breaks they were entitled to, while a similar number, 34 per cent, weren't paid for trial shift work. As many as 60 per cent had to pay for work-related uniforms, equipment and training. "The report's damning but certainly not surprising." Yolanda Robson is director of the Melbourne-based Young Workers Centre, which has spoken to more than 65,000 young people during outreach programs. "If you are a person who identifies as young or queer or coming from a migrant background, then we know you're inherently more at risk of workplace exploitation. That is just fact, that you are over-represented and more likely to be injured at work, taken advantage of, bullied, discriminated on the job. We see it all the time at the Young Workers Centre." And for young people who have recently entered the workforce, she has this message: "Getting taken advantage of doesn't build resilience. What builds resilience is knowing what your rights are and actually going about asserting them with your fellow co-workers. That's what builds resilience, not being exploited." Desha Patel says migrants like her are particularly vulnerable, and she's calling for greater action to stop workplace exploitation. "I really hope to see some systemic changes where these employers are held accountable and we can actually prevent wage theft and harassment in the first place. The onus shouldn't be on workers to hold these employers accountable. We already have these laws. I wish the government and other agencies work together to better implement these laws." In a statement to SBS, a spokesperson for the Fair Work Ombudsman says it proactively checks employers are doing the right thing, and prioritises education and assistance for vulnerable young workers.
SBS Australia
14-07-2025
- Business
- SBS Australia
'It's rife': One third of Australia's young workers report wage theft
Cafe worker Mia McDowall was initially shocked to discover she'd been underpaid by thousands of dollars but soon learnt it's an experience all too common in the hospitality industry. The 22-year-old has worked for multiple employers who either didn't pay her correctly, forced her to work through legally mandated breaks or didn't pass on deducted superannuation to her fund. "Wage theft is absolutely rife, for sure," McDowall told the Australian Associated Press. "I know more people my age who have spent any significant amount of time in hospitality that have had wages lost than haven't." McDowall is among more than one in three young workers who report being ripped off, according to University of Melbourne research released on Tuesday. Two-thirds were forced to pay for work-related items such as uniforms or protective equipment, almost one-third were not paid compulsory super and more than one-third were banned from taking entitled breaks. One in five said they had been paid off the books, almost 10 per cent were paid in food or products and eight per cent said they never received a pay slip. "The extent of all the different ways that people are being denied their entitlements or employers are breaking the law shocked me," study lead John Howe said. "The majority of employers are doing the right thing, but there's obviously a significant proportion of employers cutting corners with their young workers wherever they can." About one-third reported being paid as little as $15 a hour, well below the national minimum wage of $24.95 per hour, but Howe worries the true scale of underpayments could be greater. "It could be a lot higher, because a lot of workers weren't sure if they were being underpaid," he said. "Vulnerable workers are worried about raising complaints or asking questions about their entitlements because they don't want to jeopardise their job." Researchers expected to find exploitation among hospitality workers but also identified workers being ripped off in utilities industries such as gas and water, agriculture, forestry and even unionised workforces, including mining. Some 2,814 workers younger than 30 took part in the survey conducted by the Melbourne Law School as part of its Fair Day's Work project. Only one in three reported seeking help from a union or body such as the Fair Work Ombudsman, with Prof Howe recalling many expressed helplessness over their situation. Now a women's organiser for Trades Hall, McDowall believes her experiences fighting for her minimum entitlements were vital in gaining the skills she needs in her new career. She encouraged anyone to stick up for themselves, pointing to the Fair Work Wage Calculator and Young Workers Centre as great places to start. "It's so important that we are teaching young people how to determine what their pay should be and how to teach people how to have those conversations," she said.
Telegraph
14-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
DWP pockets £1bn from ‘giving up' on mothers' state pensions
The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) is set to save £1bn from its failure to track down mothers who were underpaid on the state pension. Hundreds of thousands of women who claimed child benefit missed out on National Insurance top ups because of DWP administrative errors dating as far back as 1978. In an attempt to rectify the failures, the DWP started writing to women last year, however, it has now admitted it may not be able to track down all of the women affected. Industry experts said the Government had 'all but given up' on mothers, and that retirees would suffer because of its 'dismal failure' to track them down. Home responsibilities protection (HRP) should have been granted automatically to anyone who took time off work to care for family and who also claimed child benefit between April 6 1978 and April 5 2010. The DWP initially set aside £1.2bn to top up these state pensions. The department's latest annual report shows that it has so far corrected the records of just 12,379 pensioners, paying out £104m. The average HRP arrears paid by the DWP was £8,377 between January 2024 and March 2025. But the report also shows the department now expects to spend just £29.8m on future corrections – a reduction of over £1bn. The DWP had previously estimated the state pensions of 90pc of eligible people would be corrected. This has fallen to just 8pc. It means the Government now expects more than nine in 10 of those who are thought to be eligible will not get what they are entitled to. This is primarily due to the failure of the Government's own letter-writing campaign to 370,000 taxpayers to raise awareness last year, which had an 'extremely poor response', according to pension consultancy firm LCP. Sir Steve Webb, a former pensions minister, now a partner at LCP, said it was 'totally unacceptable' that the Government had 'all but given up' on underpaid mothers. He added: 'The DWP's latest report is a hammer blow to over 100,000 mothers who are receiving reduced state pensions because of errors on their National Insurance record. 'The Government's letter-writing campaign has been a dismal failure, and this was entirely predictable given its reliance on a complicated online claims process. 'Although there will still be some ongoing publicity, the figures in the annual report are an admission that the Government itself does not expect these efforts to have much impact.' Rachel Vahey, head of public policy at AJ Bell, urged the DWP not to 'give up' on contacting those affected. She added: 'The DWP has mis-managed state pension payments for thousands of people, and should be doing its level best to put the situation right. 'But relying on people self-claiming is a dangerous route to take – some may not understand the letter they have received, or be nervous about self-checking, maybe thinking that the letter is a scam. 'The state pension can be fiendishly complicated to understand. Lots of people might not realise they're not getting the full amount. 'If anyone has received a letter, or knows someone who has received a letter, then they should call the National Insurance helpline on 0300 200 3500 who will be able to support them in making a claim.' For those reaching state pension age before April 6 2010, HRP reduced the number of qualifying years you needed to get the full basic (old) state pension by up to 22 years. Otherwise, women needed 39 qualifying years, while men required 44 qualifying years. A qualifying year is one in which you have paid sufficient National Insurance contributions – usually through working – or received National Insurance credits. If you reached state pension age between April 6 2010 and April 5 2016, you needed 30 qualifying years on your NI record to get the full basic state pension. Those reaching state pension age after this will receive the new state pension, and usually require 35 qualifying years to get the full amount. A DWP spokesman said: 'We are determined to help people who have been left out of pocket as a result of historical errors which are no fault of their own. 'That's why we wrote directly to over 370,000 of those who were potentially affected and launched an online tool to help people check if they needed to claim. 'We carried out an extensive campaign to raise awareness of the issue and will continue regular communications to get people to check their National Insurance record.'
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Employee vibe check: Nearly everybody thinks they're underpaid
Nearly 7 in 10 workers believe they're underpaid, even when their compensation is at or above market rates, according to a new Payscale report. That's a leap from the 51% of employees earning at or above market who felt underpaid four years ago. 'Employee expectations around pay remain elevated, fueled by both expectations of pay fairness and anxiety about inflation and cost of living,' Lexi Clarke, Payscale's chief people officer, told Yahoo Finance. 'Workers feel underpaid, but it's more nuanced than just inflation.' Read more: 5 ways to break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle Payscale's report found that wage growth has cumulatively outpaced inflation across most sectors since 2019, but workers don't always perceive that progress, she said. This disconnect exists even though 1 in 3 US employees are now covered by pay transparency regulations. According to Indeed, 6 in 10 job postings in the US included salary information. 'Being transparent about compensation can strengthen trust with both current staff and potential hires, enhance an employer's competitive edge, and make it easier to draw in new talent,' Indeed career expert Priya Rathod said. By subscribing, you are agreeing to Yahoo's Terms and Privacy Policy It certainly can't hurt. But for some reason, even knowing a range of what their employer is paying for their role doesn't seem to be sinking in for many workers. They still believe they're being paid unfairly for the work they do. There's also a cultural shift happening with many workers. Employees today don't just want numbers; they want context, Clarke said. 'They want to know how their work contributes to the business, how performance is rewarded, and how they can grow financially within their role or company. Without that narrative, even competitive pay can feel opaque or unfair.'To add fuel to the fire of discontent, many salaried workers won't see raises this year. The number of organizations planning to give base pay bumps this year dipped — 6% of employers say they're cutting pay increases entirely, and roughly 2 in 10 are scaling back raises, according to Payscale data. Those companies who are doling out raises say they will hike salaries by an average of 3.5% this year, compared to 3.8% in 2024 and 4.8% in 2023 — which was the highest level in two decades. Kerry Hannon is a Senior Columnist at Yahoo Finance. She is a career and retirement strategist and the author of 14 books, including the forthcoming "Retirement Bites: A Gen X Guide to Securing Your Financial Future," "In Control at 50+: How to Succeed in the New World of Work," and "Never Too Old to Get Rich." Follow her on Bluesky. Sign up for the Mind Your Money newsletter Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
