A letter to a City worker

The Labour movement column

By Anthony Painter

/@anthonypainter

Dear friend,

We now know, fewer of you guys applied for work permits to work in the Swiss financial sector last year than the year before. So it seems that despite all the hue and cry and the Mayor of London jumping up and down about the devastation that tax changes were going to cause to the City, we’re actually stuck with each other. You don’t really want to leave and, yes, I’ll be honest, we don’t really want you to leave either. Now, I’ve admitted that I’m rather more fond of you than you may have expected. Perhaps it’s time to talk?

I think we can work this out. I really do. We’ve got a lot to offer. We’ve got this great country and this great city of London. You enjoy life here. And let’s be honest, Geneva? Let’s not be rude, but come on, really? No, I thought not. So let’s talk this over.

OK, now that’s established let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. We’ve fallen out. You got involved in some crazy casino gambling and put the entire financial system in jeopardy. That was, well, it was downright impolite. If the cost had just been yours to bear, that may have not got on our nerves so much. But it was a cost us taxpayers had to bear or our entire economy could have tanked. We did it but boy has it hurt. And it’s still hurting. Sorry about the extra taxes and reduced tax reliefs. That’s just the way it goes and, in the circumstances, you haven’t really got a leg to stand on have you now?

No, indeed. Look I know that you threw your toys out of the pram. We all get a bit frustrated at times. But you stayed. You’re here. So where do we go from here?

I’ve got a deal for you. We’re in this together. What happens in this country, this city, matters to you as much as it matters to me or anyone else. You want to be secure, live in a pleasant environment, you don’t want to look around and see suffering, you know in your heart of hearts that everyone should have the stupendous chances that you (and I) had in life, and you want to live in a country that abounds vitality and creativity.

You may have seen the Evening Standard this week. You would have been affected by the stories of dispossession in the same way that I was. The bright lad in Islington who couldn’t afford to pay for his UCAS form to improve himself and chase his dreams; the single mum who can’t afford a cot; the young people who couldn’t get a job and felt like giving up altogether; and the story of the single mother of 11 who at times looks at her life in despair are stories that would have impacted us both. Let’s put politics to one side – neither of us thinks that this is acceptable in a city like London or a country like the UK.

Yet you work hard. You work really hard. You make an incredible contribution. Things can seem a bit much sometimes. Stress makes you disengage a bit from the world around you. And I have to be honest I also miss the everyday signs that too many of our fellow citizens lack any real chance to get on in life or even provide for themselves and their families properly. We are both at fault. And if, from time to time, you and I sat with many of the people who suffer – which maybe we should – we’d never forget how much work there is still to do to empower people and free them from the scourge of poverty, desperation, and personal defeat. And many of their stories might even inspire us.

So here’s my idea. Let’s start thinking about how we can start to turn this around and let’s campaign together. You can start campaigning in your company for a Living Wage and get your friends to do the same – that’s £7.60 per hour in London. You may think this sounds like very little but you’d be surprised how many workers subsist on levels below this hourly wage. You’ll be pleased to know that you can make it happen – a whole host of financial services companies, retailers and others have taken the plunge, and credit to them.

I’ll work on the Labour Party – with some friends at a website called LabourList (visit it sometime) and see if we can get a Living Wage policy in the manifesto for all public sector workers and sub-contractors at least. Just as you can be inspired by some companies that have done the right thing, there are many local councils and public bodies who have also acted. Oh, and there’s President Obama. He’s giving some serious consideration to a ‘high road’ policy. Not quite strong enough but a massive change in the US context (although 100 or so cities and counties have already acted there.)

It may not seem so right now but I think you’ve got more to gain than me from this deal. But we will both gain enormously, as will everyone. It can’t be nice being vilified in the media and by other members of the community and sometimes you have been. So let’s call a truce. It can be better. We could all become more committed members of the community – gain from each other, support each other and make this great place an even better place to live for all.

What do you say? Shall we meet for a coffee (I know some great coffee houses here) and shake on it?

(Comradely) yours,

Anthony