02.00 START
02.39 CAROL VARNEY
Years on, people are out of a job. With the government regime, people
lost their jobs. Not only the people lost their jobs. But people also lost
their homes.
02.50 GEORGINA
The government says there is no poverty in England. I would say there
is a lot of poverty in England. I would say that there is as much poverty
here as anywhere else in the world.
03.05 TESSA FARRELL
If you're born poor in Britain, you will stay poor.
Basically, government policy has engendered the idea that if you have money,
you will increase your money. And if you have very little money, you will
stay like that : You will stay poor.
03.25 OFF VOICE
These families live in Newtown. A suburb of Birmingham. Here some 12500
people live in huge grey buildings and little social houses. 50 % of the
Newtown citizens are unemployed. Nearly everybody who lives here is poor.
From 1979 the total of British living under the European level of poverty
has risen from 5 million to 14 million. One in four of the poor in Europe
is British. They are the victims of an economic model which doesn't work.
04.00 OFF VOICE
On the 17th floor of Brooks Tower lives Jeremy Dennis. He was fired six
weeks ago, due to his asthma problems. Now he's got to survive with his
unemployment allowance. Too little to live on he says.
04.15 JEREMY DENNIS
I get £27 (a week) to live on now. If I had a job, I would need at least 180
pounds. For the rent, community charge. Because you don't get benefit when
you are working.
I just don't go out very much. My mum helps me out. She gives me
dinners. It's hard to live on.
(12")
04.45 OFF VOICE
Low educated people have seen their salaries cut down. On the other hand,
the highly skilled have seen their salaries rise by 200%.
04.55 JEREMY DENNIS
It makes me mad, because they don't deserve that much money. When there are
people having their water cut off and people who can't afford food for the
kids. They justify getting a half a million pounds a year. It's just
unreal.
05.20 OFF VOICE
The Low pay policy has been crucial for the British Conservative
government. But this policy and the belief in the free market system
don't offer more jobs, says Chris Pond president of the study bureau "The
Low Pay Unit, in London.
05.37 CHRIS POND - LOW PAY UNIT
The British government believes that the free, unregulated markets are the
best way to compete in the world and to create jobs. And that means that
people in Britain have far fewer rights, social employment rights than
other countries in the EU. We have no legal minimum wage in this country,
there is no limit to the hours people are asked to work each week and
indeed there is no right to paid holidays for any British citizens.
That has not resulted in the creation of more jobs. We've created fewer jobs than other European countries in recent years. But it has resulted in very considerable poverty and hardship.
06.19 OFF VOICE
Carol Varney lives with her husband and two children on the border of
Newtown. She's got a part time job in a transportation company. Her
husband has been out of a job for 3 years. Although she has an income of
143 pounds, she can't survive without money problems.
06.40 CAROL VARNEY
In order to make the money go around, you go without things. Sometimes
you diet, The kids like meat, but it's very rare we have meat. The heating
you would have on certain hours, but you wouldn't have it on all the time.
Somebody who was financially better of would have more heating and they
would probably have a better diet. So you adapt for what you have got
coming in.
06.20 (26")
07.12 OFF VOICE
Carol relates her low income to the fact that Great Britain abolished the
minimum wage. Low educated people earn down to 1 pound 50 an hour. The
unions are trying to reinstate the minimum wage of 4 pounds. But until
now without success. Every employer is free to determine the wage he's
willing to pay.
07.38 CAROL VARNEY
The large companies have financial advisors who would set a target. The
target for my sort of work, for the moment for new employers after 5.5
years. They have tried to employ people for 3 pounds 69. Which was below
the 4 pound minimum wage. It just doesn't seem to work. There just
doesn't seem to be enough people willing to go ahead and try to get the
minimum wage. People are too worried about losing their jobs and to stand up for
their rights in this country.
08.24 OFF VOICE
People with money problems can ask for support from the welfare
organisation "The Birmingham Settlement".
"Good afternoon "The Birmingham Settlement, can I help you ? I'll put you
through, to our money advice centre."
08.38 OFF VOICE
Tessa Farrell works for the money advice centre. She advises people on how
to manage their low income.
08.47 TESSA FARRELL
In New Town there are a lot of working poor. That's people who are working full-
time, but probably working for a very low salary. But who also earn a little bit
too much to qualify for help from the government with social security.
09.05 CHRIS POND - LOW PAY UNIT
I think Britain wants to compete with the rest of Europe. They feel that
they should act as the low wage economy in Europe. Not only to win an
advantage over the European partners, but also to attract investment from
the third world. And from the newly developing countries on the Pacific Rim such as Taiwan and South Korea. Recently we had a report in the French newspaper "Le
Monde" telling us that with quotes from Taiwan and South Korea industrialists were coming to Britain, because wages in Britain were lower than in their own countries.
09.45 OFF VOICE
Great Britain refused to subscribe the social chapter of the Maastricht
Treaty. This lead to the loss of every right of protection for the British
employees.
09.54 JOHN HILL
The future lies in having a flexible economy, where entrepreneurs can take
advantage of new opportunities as they arise. Which is being as
competitive as possible internationally. The government sees some of the
legislation which is brought in by the social protocol Maastricht treaty as acting against that. As tying the hands of employers. making it more difficult for
employers to hire or to fire workers. They think that if it is difficult
to fire workers, you would be less likely to hire them in the first place.
10.33 OFF VOICE
There is hardly any communication between employers and unions. The
British employers even don't have to recognise the unions. The TUC stands
with its back to the wall. The employees have lost their faith in the
union. In '79 the TUC had 13 million members, now there are some 9 million
left.
10.50 CAROL VARNEY
We have already halved the amount of people who were in engineering
Unions. Our numbers have halved. It means that the unions are no longer as
strong as they were. What they could have done 5 years ago, they are no
longer capable of.
Q : People don't believe in the Unions anymore ?
There is no strength. The Unions in number are so down. They no longer
take. They don't have the power they had years ago. If the union said :
"The company must do this." Then the company did it. Now the Union say :
Oh, if the company says this, then it's OK.
11.34 JOHN HILL
I think the government would not argue at all that it's policy had been
intended to increase social exclusion. It would argue that the position
might have been worse. If it had not realised the trade market and if the
unions had remained strong. It has been more concerned to keep down the
level of government spending so that the level of taxation can be kept down.
And again it sees that as part of it, that the low level of taxation would
bring benefits to the enterprise economy. That it would make it easier for firms to make profit and to reinvest and therefore in the long run to create employment
which will benefit the whole community. This is the trickle down theory
that if things go well at the top, that eventually the benefits of that will
trickle down at the bottom. I think what has been very clear from the
statistics and what has happened in Britain since the late '79. That that has
not yet happened.
12.42 OFF VOICE
Although the number of low educated unemployed people is still rising, the
British government keeps on cutting down on welfare budgets. Here lives
Loretta Matthews. She is a single parent. Together with her 4 children
she tries to survive with 121 pounds a week. Too less she says. She is
obliged to lend money from loansharks, people who'll lend you money with
rates up to 4000 %. But Rita even can't pay the money that she lend back.
She often lives in a scary situation.
13.20 Loretta MATTHEWS
They would send somebody that you could call a bailiff, that come
out and hassle you. They have like a court order to take things from your
home that would cover the cost. Some will take the law in their own hands
and hassle you. Sometimes you have to fight back and than you end up going
to prison for grievous bodily harm.
14.02 OFF VOICE
She can't go to the banks. Her income is too low to borrow money. Five
years ago there were still 27 banks, now there are 4 left. There is no
money in Newtown. The shops have closed down because the people who live
there don't have money to spend in the shops.
14.23 Banks and shops gave up any hope for Newtown. Loretta's biggest
worry is how to pay all the bills. The only way to pay her electricity
bill is via this token system.
14.49 RITA MATTHEWS
I'm putting the card in the machine. Now I've got electricity. This is
based on a budget scheme. You go to a newsagent with the card and have as
many tokens. Maybe five pound worth of tokens, 10 pounds worth of
tokens.
If I haven't got any tokens. I will just have to stay in the dark.
Until I'm able to get some money.
Q : Then you will be out of electricity ?
Yes I will be out of electricity until I get the money to buy tokens.
there is nothing else I can do !
15.40 TESSA
In the last two government budgets, there have been cuts in welfare
benefits. The general trend is for the government is to withdraw support.
Withdrawing the social security safety net from people who desperately need
that help. Basically the government says to individuals to look after
themselves
16.08 OFF VOICE
Stan and Georgina Wallace are people who can't look after themselves.
Georgina is unemployed. Stan is on a pension. Together they have to live
on 73 pounds a week.
16.23 GEORGINA WALLACE
Our income is lower than what our bills are. We have to juggle between
bills. If we have got water and rent at the same time I have to pay one or
the other. We have been threatened with court action from the MEB and
the Poll Tax people. Basically they will come and take the furniture if we
don't pay the bill.
16.56 OFF VOICE
Also the British pension system is going down the hill. Rich people are
opting for the "Opting out system".
17.05 TESSA
The opting out system appeals to people who can afford their own pensions. What actually happens is that they can step out of the State earnings pension scheme. Which means that there is less money in that scheme for poor people to claim when they retire. So in 30 years time it may be that there is no retirement pension that the government pays. So I don't know what will happen to people who cannot opt out because they not working or because they earn to little to buy into a private pension. Again it's helping the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
17.44 GEORGINA WALLACE
We have a lot of building going on at the moment. They are altering the
flats by filling in the balconies. Putting a cage over the windows.
People get so depressed, that they jump off the balconies.
I sometimes get depressed myself. I don't think that I would jump off the
balcony .
Q : You never thought about it ?
In the past I probably have, just as passing thought. But I would usually find something else to occupy my mind. I'd go for a walk.
Sometimes I would feel so angry about the situation I'm in that I walk for
hours, without realising how far I've gone. Then I would have to walk back
home.
Hoy, get out of there ?
Q : What is happening ?
They were climbing in the work yard. You see the ladders on the roofs
there. They take them and climb into the flats. I would say that they are
only about 11 or 12 years old.
We've got you on camera, so clear off. Look they run ! Look ! See them run off now.
19.16 OFF VOICE
Poverty in Britain pushes adults and minors to crime. Shirley Scott was
heartbroken when the police picked up her son of 14.
19.31 Q : Why was he picked up ?
He was caught in a pub, but they did not have the evidence to charge him
so they had to let him off. This was not the first incident that I had
with my son anyway.
If he could get money, he would do anything to get it.
Mom : So what kick do you get out of it ?
Son : I don't get a kick out of it.
M : So why do you do it ?
S : Fun !
M : Oh it's fun robbing people's houses and robbing people on the street
20.03 OFF VOICE
In Newtown the police are powerless. They are undermanned and unarmed.
In the meantime they keep on patrolling by car. More and more people are
asking for the Bobbies to come onto the streets again.
20.16 BOB FLEMMING
There is a high crime rate in this area. Because of the social
deprivation. A lot of movement in and out of the area. The drugs
obviously attract the wrong type of person into the area. And to get money
for the drugs. People are committing crime.
20.35 v/o
Irene has lived for 40 years in Newtown. She also has been mugged. Now
she's afraid to walk alone in the streets.
20.50 IRENE
When I was younger, years ago you could go anywhere. Go out leave the
doors open. No one would bother me. And even like ten years ago you could do that. But it's got worse and worse. No one really goes out, unless they go out in a group or someone is picking them up in a car.
21.17 v/o
In Great Britain the income of the parents is of crucial importance for
the education of the children. High income families can offer their
children better education and better chances for the future. The British
can choose between private schools and state schools. Private schools are
for many people an unreachable dream.
21.39 PAULA
If I could get her a private education. Yes perhaps, if I could afford
that, yes I would. In a later life if I move on and get a decent job. Yes
she would get a private education. I'd like the best for her to have a
decent education and then hopefully she would get a decent job. How can
you see 20 years from now. When I was at school I didn't think it would
be like this. I thought I would leave school, go to college, get a wonderful job,
be happy being married and the rest of it. No Cinderella tale.
22.48 CHRIS POND
We have a real problem in Britain in terms of the level of investment in
both education and training. About a million school children are now being
educated in classes which are more than 30 in size, which makes it very
difficult for those children who need the extra help to get that help. The
result according to the employment organisation is that we have a
workforce which is too poorly educated to compete effectively in the world.
And one of the main reasons that we've seen the increase in the gap
between the rich and the poor in Britain is that we have this enormous
difference in educational standards and educational opportunities.
23.32 OFF VOICE
Despite the disastrous consequences of the governments economical system
for a big part of the British citizens, the government won't change their
opinion : European employees are too expensive and too less flexible.
There is more. The British government wants to push her economical model
towards the rest of Europe.
23.51 CHRIS POND
I think Britainisation would be a disaster for the people of Europe.
We've had an experiment in Britain lasting for 15 years or more to see what
would happen if we followed that sets of economical and social
policies. The result has been a very substantial growth of poverty and
hardship, but it has not resulted in more jobs or greater prosperity for
the nation as a whole.
OFF VOICE
People of Newtown have lost their hopes. They don't think that the
situation will change in the near future. They've lost every faith in the
politicians.
24.28 GEORGINA
I don't think they care about people. The rich don't care. They don't
care about everybody. They care about their own. When it comes down in
saying that there is no poverty in England. If they would open their eyes
a bit more or come out in the community. They would see the poverty.
24.44 SHIRLEY SCOTT
Q : So, how do you look at your own future ?
I'm not looking at my own future. I'm living by day to day. It's these
I'm looking forward to, the future they've got. Which at the moment they
haven't got a future.
25.10 CHRIS POND
I feel ashamed to say that I come from Britain. Because I can understand
the very real anger and frustration of people elsewhere in Europe when they
here that Britain is not prepared to accept the same standards as those
which have existed for many years in other European countries. The fact
that we want to compete on the basis of low wages and therefore perhaps put
our European partners out of jobs. The fact that we're not prepared to
accept the same standards of protection for children at work, as those which
exist in other European countries. And the fact that we are openly
prepared to undermine the attempts of the rest of Europe to move forward on
the basis of solidarity and partnership in order to win a short term
economical and political gain.
25.59 RITA MATTHEWS
Sometimes I would sit down and cry. Sometimes I would go and buy a can of
beer or brandy. Then I would sit in my house, cry myself to sleep and drink the whole bottle. I don't get drunk. For me at that time it seems that my problems are
solved. But the next day when the drink is finished, I'm back to square
one.
27.09 END
Last Addendum or update:
SVO's:
Chris Pond : Low Pay Unit
John Hill : London School of Economics
Tessa Farell : Birmingham Settlement