Cleaners 'Worth More to Society' than Bankers

Hospital cleaners are worth more to society than bankers, a study suggests.

A recent study turns upside down our notions of pay and value of employment. It says  hospital cleaners create £10 of value for every £1 they are paid, compared to the destruction of £7 of value for every £1 bankers earn.

Eilis Lawlor, spokeswoman for the New Economics Foundation, said:

A total of six different jobs were analysed to assess their overall value. These are the study's main findings:

• The elite banker:

  "Rather than being wealth creators bankers are being handsomely rewarded for bringing the global financial system to the brink of collapse. Paid between £500,000 and £80m a year, leading bankers destroy £7 of value for every pound they generate".

• Childcare workers:

  "Both for families and society as a whole, looking after children could not be more important. As well as providing a valuable service for families, they release earnings potential by allowing parents to continue working. For every pound they are paid they generate up to £9.50 worth of benefits to society."

• Hospital cleaners:

  "Play a vital role in the workings of healthcare facilities. They not only clean hospitals and maintain hygiene standards but also contribute to wider health outcomes. For every pound paid, over £10 in social value is created."

• Advertising executives:

  The industry "encourages high spending and indebtedness. It can create insatiable aspirations, fuelling feelings of dissatisfaction, inadequacy and stress. For a salary of between £50,000 and £12m top advertising executives destroy £11 of value for every pound in value they generate".

• Tax accountants:

  "Every pound that a tax accountant saves a client is a pound which otherwise would have gone to HM Revenue. For a salary of between £75,000 and £200,000, tax accountants destroy £47 in value, for every pound they generate."

• Waste recycling workers:

  "Do a range of different jobs that relate to processing and preventing waste and promoting recycling. Carbon emissions are significantly reduced. There is also a value in reusing goods. For every pound of value spent on wages, £12 of value is generated for society."

The NEF study recommends a number of policies to align pay more closely with the value of work, including establishing a high pay commission, building social and environmental value into prices, and introducing more progressive taxation.

News and Comment - No Job News