You can toothsuck about what should be all you like, reality’s still going to smack you in the chops
As with our constant insistence that no business plan survives first contact with the market we need to point out that no moral philosophy survives a confrontation with reality.
We have, via the equalities act and such, instituted a particularly stupid form of sub-Marxism. That there’s an objective valuation of something, a one true price deviation from which cannot be allowed. Further, that judges can be trusted to work out what this is. All derived, of course, from that idea that there’s some objective valuation of what labour’s worth and if the workers ain’t getting it that’s expropriation.
And yet, we still need to get the bins emptied.
Which is what the actual problem in Birmingham is. So far we’re 9 months into a strike by the binmen. The cause of this goes back to one of those equal pay suits or cases. The claim was, and the judges agreed, that the work done by classroom assistants and school dinner ladies was of that equal value to that done by binmen. Further, given that the first two workforces were overwhelmingly female, the third male, this was sexual - nay sexist - discrimination. So, pay must be equalised and compo paid. At which point - and to be fair, not only for this reason - Birmingham went bust.
And yet, we still need to get the bins emptied.
A fudge was done - the binmen would get special promotions, bonuses (bonusi?) while still gaining the same basic pay as the dinner ladies etc. That fudge has broken down and now the city faces two choices. Pay all the dinner ladies enough that the binmen go back to work or don’t get the bins collected.
And yet, we still need to get the bins emptied.
We’re now at the point that the agency workers brought in to cover for the striking binmen - really, not collecting the bins is a public health hazard, obviously - are going on strike. And Birmingham cannot solve this problem:
The council walked away from negotiations in July saying it could not improve its offer, partly due to fears it could open itself up to more equal pay claims.
Reality’s smack to the chops - the correct pay for making pink custard is not determined by what is necessary to get people emptying the bins at 6 am on a winter’s morning. The correct pay for gristle stewing is how much is necessary to get people to come stew gristle. The correct pay for rubbish collection is that necessary to gain the labour to get the bins emptied.
Pay is determined by supply and demand, not by some abstract should be nor comparison and certainly not by some phantasm of equal value. As for judges getting involved in any of this….
For, we still need to get the bins emptied.
As that noted economist, Mr. Tyson, pointed out, everyone has a plan until they get hit in the face. Reality’s just smacked that idea of equal value, equal pay, for different work in the chops. It doesn’t work for, as we are enjoying pointing out, we still need to get the bins emptied. So, drop the fallacy and get with reality - pay is set by supply and demand.
Abstractions and moral philosophies are all very well but they are pinheads dancing with angels when confronted with the necessity of making the world actually work.
Tim Worstall