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Are We Willing to Pay for It?Dateline: 20th October, 2002To hear (in a report from BECTU) that the majority of theatre workers in the UK are on wages which are below the official poverty line, set by both the Low Pay Unit and the Council of Europe, is horrifying, if not totally unexpected. Not, of course, that it will evince much sympathy from the public, not when we have fire-fighters about to strike over pay, with what the public will undoubtedly see as a perfectly justified demand for £30,000 a year At the moment, in fact, there are numerous pay disputes going on, many of which have already resulted in industrial action. It has to be said that this is only to be expected: whenever we have a Labour government, workers expect better consideration than they believe they would get under the Tories, and, if that expectation is not met, they are likely to take action. It is quite natural: the Labour Party is the party of the people, they reason, so a Labour government should support pay rises for the workers. And this feeling is intensified - as is the inclination to take industrial action - when they see no slowing down in the pay rises for the "fat cats", the already highly paid. What is surprising - but, again, not unexpected - is the fact that they bear little resentment about the pay of, for example, footballers, many of whom earn more in a week than many "men in the street" earn in a year - and who have an annual income of more than many of the "fat cats", in some cases! Regardless of the rights or wrongs of these pay demands, it remains certain that the average worker would not believe that increasing subsidy for theatre would be a good thing, even if it means more pay for stage electricians, carpenters, painters etc. This is money which could be better spent on hospitals or schools, they believe. Which leaves theatre in a bit of a dilemma, especially the subsidised sector. An actor on Equity minimum gets less than £14,000 a year, a technician even less. Most could earn more in other jobs. Many are extremely well qualified (I know one technician earning less than £14,000 who has a first class honours degree in Physics). They'd also work shorter (and more social) hours. But they do it for love of theatre. They do it for love of theatre. But are theatregoers willing to pay more for their tickets - for love of theatre - so that those who work in the business can be better paid? I wonder... Articles Indices:
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