Monday, February 05, 2007

Shouldn't Labour get their own house in order first?

Never let it be said that the Government does not do, or get irony. The latest press release from HM Revenue and Customs states that the Government is publishing new guidelines "to promote fair treatment of work experience placements in the television industry" specifcally to "clarify where National Minimum Wage legislation applies".

The Paymaster General, Dawn Primarolo said,
"The majority of UK employers are honest and scrupulous, so instances of minimum wage non-payment are in the minority, but we must ensure those entitled to payment are given at least the minimum wage. This guidance will enable broadcast industry employers to understand their obligations, and help them distinguish between workers and volunteers."
I wonder if she is aware of how the Labour Party took on a work experience person to produce TV shorts of the Labour Conference, failed to pay him properly and only finally gave in after a concerted campaign driven by a Tory blogger?

5 comments:

Praguetory said...

Even after that campaign begin it took another 10 weeks for Danny to get his cheque. Also, on-topic, here's the story of another young film-maker who also did some "no-fee" media work for Labour.

Chris Paul said...

Meanwhile dozens upon dozens of unpaid interns working for MPs, with a predominance among Tory and Lib Dem scoundrels it must be said ... working for nada is part of the deal in political life isn't it ... but the multiple interns is proportionately a more important case than poor Danny's glue ear or whatever it is you said, eh? ripped off like a Tory intern you say? eh?

dizzy said...

Justifying hypocrisy on the grounds of proportionality? You're taking the piss right? You're not really that intellectually dishonest are you?

Anonymous said...

"Primarolo admitted that 120,000 returns – 13 per cent of the total – 'were accepted with errors that would normally have been rejected' which required manual work by HMRC staff before they could be correctly processed."

She's a one woman disaster area
http://www.vnunet.com/computing/news/2174235/revenue-glitches-causes

Praguetory said...

Chris Paul is an idiot.