Italian Inequality

The Bank of Italy reveals that the wealth of the country's 10 richest individuals equals that of Italy's 3 million poorest.

10% of the richest Italian families own 40% of net national wealth

THE SOCIAL SCRAPHEAP

After a lifetime of toil many workers imagine that at least their twilight years will be spent in some sort of retirement with ease and care - but if they happen to be ill they certainly won't. "Hospital wards caring for elderly patients have up to a third fewer nurses working on them than other wards, research suggests. A survey of almost 1,700 nurses for the Royal College of Nursing found staffing levels on older people's wards was significantly lower than those for other specialties and general medical admissions. Overall, wards for elderly patients had one registered nurse for every 9.5 patients compared with an average of one for every 6.7 patients. One third of the nurses questioned said the staffing shortages meant they were unable to help patients eat and drink." (Independent, 20 March) Having helped to produce all of world's wealth the old worker is condemned to the social scrapheap. RD

Fighting for Bangladeshi women in Glasgow

Women and men from UK Feminista took to the high street to protest against the exploitation uncovered in factories supplying Nike. The actions, taking place outside Nike stores in London and Glasgow. The demonstrations are a response to new research published by War on Want which has uncovered the systematic violations of workers’ rights in Bangladeshi factories supplying garments for Nike, Puma and Adidas.

All factories visited were illegally employing staff for more than 60 hours a week, and five of the six failed to pay the legal minimal wage. Eighty five per cent of Bangladesh’s garment workers are women. 1 in 10 workers experiencing sexual harassment. Many are refused maternity rights or simply fired when discovered to be pregnant.

Low paid jobs are consistently filled by women. Women lack other employment opportunities due to poor access to education, and are affected by entrenched gender stereotypes around what constitutes ‘women’s work’. These include assumptions around their primary roles as carers rather than breadwinners, stereotyping women as supplementary earners and so excusing the payment of low wages. In this way firms like Nike are able to profit from gender inequality through utilising a cheap, female labour force subsidised by stereotypes.

The protest was not asking for boycott. Neither did it aim to ladle guilt onto women as consumers over where they shop. Instead it was a protest in solidarity with garment workers in Bangladesh which aims to spotlight the ability of firms like Nike to reap huge profits relies on gender inequality and demanded that Nike takes positive steps to end this.

http://www.leftfootforward.org/2012/03/nike-exploitation-women-workers-bangladesh-uk-feminista-protest/

Less poor? But more hungry!

Indian government officials have argued against many sceptics that they have reduced poverty yet two thirds of the country's population is eating less than what is required.

According to the National Institute of Nutrition, an average Indian male of age 18-29 years and weighing 60kg needs 2,320Kcal per day if he does only sedentary work. The Planning Commission had adopted 2,400 Kcal (rural) and 2,100 Kcal (urban) as the minimum daily requirement norm.

There has been an actual declined from 2,153Kcal per person per day in the period 1993-94 to 2020Kcal in 2009-10 in rural areas and from 2,071 to 1,946 Kcal in urban areas according to the report of the National Sample Survey Organisation.

According to the NSSO report, protein consumption too has fallen from 60.2g to 55g per person per day in rural areas and from 57.2g to 53.5g in the urban areas between 1993-94 and 2009-10.

Average calorie intake among the poorest tenth of the population is just 1,619 Kcal in rural areas and 1,584Kcal in urban areas, reveals the NSSO report. The richest 10% of the population consumes 2,922 Kcal in rural areas and 2,855 Kcal in urban on an average.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Poverty-down-but-not-the-hungry/articleshow/12487352.cms

PORCHES AND POVERTY

African countries are often portrayed in the media as desperately poor but some of its citizens are extremely rich. Nigeria's super rich are no strangers to conspicuous consumption, and there's no better way to flaunt your wealth than by buying a brand new European sports car. "German car maker Porsche officially opened a new car dealership on Friday in the heart of Lagos' wealthiest district, Victoria Island, a place with one of the world's highest concentrations of millionaires. .... The oil wealth of Africa's biggest producer has made multi-millionaires of its elite in the past few decades, even while absolute poverty has increased to 60 per cent of the population." (Reuters, 21 March) RD

PROMISES AND PROFITS

The manufacturing giant Foxconn has pledged to sharply curtail working hours and significantly increase wages inside Chinese plants making electronic products for Apple and others. "The shift comes after a far-ranging inspection by the Fair Labor Association, a monitoring group, found widespread problems including at least 43 violations of Chinese laws and regulations, and numerous instances where Foxconn defied industry codes of conduct by having employees work more than 60 hours a week, and sometimes more than 11 days in a row. .... The monitoring group, which surveyed more than 35,000 Foxconn employees and inspected three large facilities where Apple products are manufactured, also found that 43 percent of workers had experienced or witnessed accidents, and almost two-thirds said their compensation does not meet their basic needs." (New York Times, 29 March) Promises from the capitalist class mean nothing, they will only invest their capital where it gets the biggest return. RD

Weir the people

The board of Weir Group has rewarded chief executive Keith Cochrane with a near-£1 million bonus and double-digit pay rise.

Cochrane received a £625,000 salary and £975,000 bonus as part of a £1.62m package, up from £1.26m the previous year.

Finance director Jon Stanton will receive a 5 per cent rise to £420,000 from next month. For last year Stanton received a £392,500 salary and £400,000 bonus as part of an £806,957 package, up from £732,573.

Legal and commercial director Alan Mitchelson, who is standing down at the forthcoming AGM, received a £344,127 salary and £350,000 bonus as part of a £708,584 package, up from £665,887.

GOOD AND BAD NEWS

Global warming may be bad news for Greenland's polar bears, wolves, musk ox and whales, but it could mean new economic opportunities for the capitalist class. Satellite images taken over the past several decades show the dramatic disappearance of ice. A study just published by scientists with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research shows that this ice could lose a fifth of its mass in the future. The weakening ice is making the island's rich stores of raw materials accessible. Along with uranium, zinc, iron ore, copper and gold, Greenland's ancient rocks also harbour large quantities of those minerals known as "rare earth". "Rare earth minerals are used in the manufacture of mobile phones, laptop computers, flat screens, fuel cells, LED lights, motors for electric cars and in laser technology. They provide the basis for entire high tech industries." (Die Welt, 21 March) Global warming may lead to disaster for millions of workers but it it is just another "economic opportunity" for the owning class. RD

Football democracy

One of Scottish football’s leading administrators has called for the game to accept that supporters matter more than television companies, and to rethink the balance between the demands of broadcasters and the interests of supporters.

Hibernian managing director Fife Hyland said the demands of broadcasters had been too easily allowed to outweigh the interests of supporters, particularly when it came to deciding kick-off times. “We know TV is important to Scottish football but it’s not the be all and end all,” he said.

For many of the Scottish football clubs , match-day receipts remain several times greater than income from broadcasting. For example, in their last published accounts, for the year to July 2010, Hearts revealed that their matchday revenues were more than two and a half times greater than their income from broadcasting. Their income from TV was £1.5million, while that from matches (gate receipts plus smaller associated items such as programme sales) was £3.9m. There is an even greater disparity across the city Hibs are understood to take in around four times more from match-days than they do from broadcasting.

The Old Firm, Rangers (presently insolvent) and Celtic dominate Scottish football. A new £80m TV contract with Sky and ESPN, is dependent on the provision of four Old Firm fixtures a season and shows the importance of Rangers and Celtic. The ten non-Old Firm clubs in the SPL want to change the league’s voting structure, which at present requires an 11-1 majority for substantial changes to be passed. Dunfermline chairman John Yorkston said that he would urge the ten to resign if Rangers and Celtic continued to block democratisation of the rules on voting. The Old Firm have historically shown their ability both to ignore the common good where there is a buck to be made, and so it was to prove again.

Man­­agers and directors of the ten have begun to make it clear that a future without the Old Firm was not only an option, but might even be preferable. Fans will see their departure as a chance for real competition to be returned to an SPL championship

one law for the rich , another for the poor

Five years ago Scotland’s wealthiest woman Stagecoach tycoon, Ann Gloag, to defend her privacy challenged the right to roam legislation, winning her battle against the Ramblers Association Scotland and Perth and Kinross Council to erect a fence around a 12-acre area of Kinfauns. Yet she is now happy to proposal to build another house which has led her neighbours to complain that it would ruin their privacy and seclusion.

Forestry Commission Scotland also objected, warning authorities that were the scheme to go ahead, it would ruin an area of ancient woodland and was in direct contravention of planning policies.

As part of the local authority’s decision to approve the plans for the new properties, Gloag will pay a £12,790 “education contribution” fee as a condition of the planning permission. The money will be used to fund improvements and increase pupil capacity at the nearby Kinnoull Primary School.

Socialist Courier wonders what does constitutes a bribe?

http://www.scotsman.com/news/ann-gloag-wins-battle-to-extend-stagecoach-empire-1-2201868

MONEY AND MORALITY

Three years ago, Europeans lauded new weapons export rules meant to control the trade of military technology and equipment. The "Security-related export controls II" rules state that export approval should be avoided in the event that weapons "might be used for undesirable purposes such as internal repression or international aggression or contribute to regional instability." "But it appears that some European Union members are disregarding these rules when it comes to Saudi Arabia. A European Commission summary obtained by SPIEGEL shows that combined exports from member states amount to the EU being the world's largest exporter of weapons to the Middle Eastern country. In 2010, member states delivered at least 3.3 billion euros ($4.34 billion) worth of military equipment and licenses to Riyadh." (Der Spiegel, 19 March) When it comes to making a profit, fine words like "undesirable intentions" mean very little. Sweden, for example, helped the Saudis build a missile factory and sold them some 330 million euros in defence technology in 2011. Meanwhile, Finland recently received an export permit to deliver 36 grenade launchers, and Germany is preparing 270 Leopard 2 tanks for delivery. Great Britain is providing fighter jets RD

dirty glasgow

Pollution in several residential areas of Glasgow has reached potentially deadly levels. All the air quality monitors in the city are exceeding the maximum level for particulate pollution – one of the most dangerous forms with microscopic particles which can cause breathing and blood problems as well as increased risk of heart attacks.

Chris Connor, air quality specialist at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, said "There is a particular concern about young children and toddlers in buggies as they're at a similar height to exhausts where the cocktail of pollutants is at its highest concentrations."

Broomhill Drive, Byres Road, Nithsdale Road and Battlefield Road are among the worst affected, with most of the pollution thought to be caused by buses, cars and taxis.

POLITICS AND PAYBACK

Just in case that you thought only British capitalists have access to their government here is an example of how this practice is international. "President Barack Obama is using privileged access to the White House to reward his most generous financial supporters. Republican rivals Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum cannot match his move. More than 60 of Mr. Obama's biggest campaign donors have visited more than once for meetings with top advisers, holiday parties or state dinners." (Independent, 26 March) He who pays the piper calls the tune. RD

POLITICS AND PAPACY

The papacy has changed a great deal. We now have press reporters calling him by his first name, and even more than that. "Benedict dons a Mexican sombrero as he preaches Mass to 300,000. More than 300,000 Catholic pilgrims gathered in the central Mexican city of Silao on Sunday to hear Pope Benedict XVI say Mass in the country on his first official visit to Latin America." (Daily Telegraph, 25 March) They even have him depicted in mass circulation newspapers wearing a sombrero. Wow, is this the new with-it Pope? No, this is a Pope who is so concerned by falling collections in churches that he has to travel the world rallying his faithful. Years ago the pope didn't even have to leave the Vatican to fill the church's coffers. RD

Wasted Capitalism

One third to one half of all food produced in the world goes to waste uneaten, according to data recently collected by the Natural Resources Defense Council and presented this month at the 2012 Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit. Yet the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that 925 million people went undernourished in 2010 alone. And hunger is not a problem restricted to developing countries: last year, an estimated 1 in 4 American children lived in households where food was not always available, and 1 in 5 Americans sought food aid through the federal food stamp program.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that the average American throws away 33 pounds of food each month — that’s nearly 400 pounds each year. Food waste makes up nearly 14% of American families’ trash. Americans toss more food in their garbage cans than plastic products. This waste includes both leftover cooked foods, and food that was purchased but allowed to spoil without being eaten. The foods most commonly discarded without ever being eaten include fresh produce, eggs and fish.

Farmers, packaged food producers and retailers all waste edible food, too. Farmers may throw away excess produce that cannot be sold; food process may discard edible byproducts; grocery stores often reject or discard produce with minor defects. And at any point along the food supply chain, failure to deliver food promptly or store food properly may lead to spoilage.

Agriculture and food production are highly energy-intensive industries. Industrialized farms use petrochemicals to fertilize soil, and fossil fuels to power farm equipment. Transporting food from field to plate consumes even more energy. According to the a report issued by the UN FAO in November 2011, the food sector accounts for nearly 30 percent of the world’s energy consumption. Wasted food, essentially, is wasted energy. And wasted water, too: the international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reports that agriculture accounts for roughly 70 percent of human water consumption. Beyond the substantial environmental impact of the wasted energy and water represented by wasted food, food waste contributes significantly to global climate change when it decomposes in landfills. When left to decompose in natural conditions or in a compost pile, food waste naturally releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. But under unnatural landfill conditions, in the absence of air, most food waste undergoes anaerobic decomposition, which results in the production of large amounts of methane gas instead. Though both carbon dioxide and methane are greenhouse gases that can contribute to climate change, EPA scientists estimate that methane gas is 20 times more efficient at trapping the sun’s heat than carbon dioxide — making excess methane much more dangerous to the climate than excess CO2. Landfills are currently the third-largest source of methane in the United States, producing more of the dangerous greenhouse gas than coal mining or crude oil production. And much of the methane in landfills comes from decomposing food waste.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/while-children-starve-up-to-half-of-the-worlds-food-goes-to-waste.html#ixzz1qIF2NUnI

AN EXPENSIVE DINNER

represent the owning class. "Conservative Party co-treasurer Peter Cruddas has resigned after secretly filmed footage showed him apparently offering access to the prime minister for a donation of £250,000 a year. He made the claim to Sunday Times reporters posing as potential donors. He said £250,000 gave "premier league" access, including dinner with David Cameron and possibly the chance to influence government policy." (BBC News, 25 March) So there you are, man in the street - just dig up a quarter of a million quid and the prime minister will give you dinner and the chance to influence government policy. RD

Facts and fiction 2

One confusion is to talk about average and median wages. The red line is the average income, and the black bar (5th decile) shows where the 'middle earner' lies. Our middle earner earns £26,200, which gives us a good idea of what a typical worker might earn. The average pay is £32,800, however around 60 per cent of full time workers earn less than this. This is the effect of a skewed balance towards higher earners.

Another common factor for confusion is between talking about individuals and households. The average UK household earns £517 a week. However only around 40 per cent of households earn more than this. The middle (the median) household, earns £413.

The "average" wage-earner and are relatively high-earning compared to most of us. The picture of what is clearer when we look to the middle rather than the average.

FACT AND FICTION

Ian Fleming's novels may have been a lot of sexist, snobbish nonsense but they now seem to be reflecting the mad consumerism of modern capitalism. "James Bond's nemesis Goldfinger may be fictional, but his love of gold is a real phenomenon. In fact, if the villain was alive and had £5m to spare, this might have been his next purchase - a Rolls Royce decked out inside and out with 120kg of gold. This Rolls Royce Phantom - worth around £330,000 by itself - has been turned into a golden tribute for a mega-rich Middle Eastern business man by designer Liverpool-based Stuart Hughes. With gold worth more than £3m lavished on the vehicle - plus other customised work to make the car both bullet and grenade-proof - the value of the car is now close to £5.2m." (Daily Mail 12 March) This crazy sale is taking place while millions try to survive on £1.25 a day. RD

Bigoted law

In updated guidance to police, Frank Mullholland, Lord Advocate, Scotland’s most senior prosecutor, has warned singing or chanting songs which “glorify, celebrate or mock events involving the loss of life” should be viewed as offensive. The ten-page report also says that “flags, banners, songs or chants in support of terrorist organisations” are “likely to be offensive”. Songs “which promote or celebrate violence against another person’s religion, culture or heritage” are also “likely to be offensive”, according to Mulholland. It is understood Mulholland’s guidance outlaws songs like the Billy Boys, The Boys Of The Old Brigade, the so-called Famine Song, and the chant “Ooh Ah, Up The Ra”, which is sung by Celtic supporters. Where the song is religiously prejudiced the relevant aggravation will be libelled.

Socialist Courier wonders just how many countries national anthems fall under that classification. "But we can still rise now And be the nation again!" A call for rebellion in Flower of Scotland? And verse 6 of God Save the Queen? "Lord grant that Marshal Wade, May by thy mighty aid, Victory bring, May he sedition hush And like a torrent rush, Rebellious Scots to crush"

Hibs fans Andrew Whitson and Paul Swanbecame the first people to be convicted under the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act last week when they admitted singing songs that were “of a racially derogative nature” on a train between Ayr and Glasgow. They were fined a combined £380.

Buying Influence

"Two hundred grand to 250 is premier league … what you would get is, when we talk about your donations the first thing we want to do is get you at the Cameron/Osborne dinners. You do really pick up a lot of information and when you see the prime minister, you're seeing David Cameron, not the prime minister. But within that room everything is confidential – you can ask him practically any question you want. If you're unhappy about something, we will listen to you and put it into the policy committee at No 10 – we feed all feedback to the policy committee." - the now Tory party's ex-co-treasurer Peter Cruddas, who built a £750m fortune through financial spread-betting

This offer of influence was made even though Cruddas knew the money would come from a fund in Liechtenstein that was not eligible to make donations under electoral law. Options said to have been discussed included creating a British subsidiary or using UK employees as conduits. The overseas clients were, in fact, reporters posing as wealth fund executives who had made clear they wished to develop contacts with the prime minister and other senior ministers to further their business. The Sunday Times claims to have hired Sarah Southern, a former Cameron aide now working as a lobbyist, who advised that making a "huge donation" was the best way to gain access to senior government figures.