GMB members, family and friends will be coming together on Sunday, 9th August to take part in the Yorkshire region’s first 5 a side football tournament to raise awareness of the GMB End Foul Pay campaign which is calling on all professional football league clubs to pay their staff at least a living wage which is currently £7.85 an hour
The Play to End Foul Pay 5 a-side will be held from:
12 NOON - SUNDAY 9TH AUGUST
JOHN CHARLES CENTRE FOR SPORT - LEEDS - LS11 5DJ
The campaign is backed by MP's from across the country who submitted an Early Day Motion to Parliament in support of GMB's campaign. The MPs included Richard Burgon Labour MP for East Leeds, Louise Haigh Labour MP for Sheffield Heeley, Paula Sheriff, Labour MP for Dewsbury, Paul Blomfield Labour MP for Sheffield Central and Labour Leader candidate Jeremy Corbyn MP for Islington North.
The event is sponsored by: GMB Yorkshire & North Derbyshire Young Members, GMB L30 Local Government Staff Branch and La Rambla Tapas Restaurant in Leeds.
The event will also raise funds for 2 local charities; Green Co Sacked Reps and Street League.
Green Co Sacked Reps Fund - GMB Shop Stewards employed by Green Co in Sheffield were sacked almost a year ago in a dispute about bullying, pay and welfare facilities which included the removal of the employees living wage and bonus payments. Sheffield City Council is currently carrying out an internal investigation into the dispute with Green Co which is contracted to run the recycling service in Sheffield.
Street League - Aims to change the lives of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds through football. They provide a structured academy programme of classroom and football pitch activities to unemployed young people to assist them with vital employability skills and nationally recognised qualifications.
Tim Roache, GMB Regional Secretary, said: ‘The GMB End Foul Pay campaign is calling on all football clubs to pay their staff at least the living wage as, after all, many of them work harder to get to the game on a Saturday than the players do on the pitch. It would be great to see some of these high profile players come out in support of these low paid workers."
Many people are passionate about football and care about fairness too. Football is one of our most popular sports and is a multi-billion pound industry in the UK. Despite this, most football clubs fail to pay every member of their workforce a living wage. This is a scandal. It means that low paid employees in football grounds rely heavily on in-work benefits and many struggle to make ends meet. If football clubs can afford to pay their players good wages then they can afford to pay the rest of their workforce at least a living wage. The living wage is currently £9.15 per hour in London and £7.85 per hour elsewhere.
Our football clubs can be a great example to their local communities. Clubs can make a difference by giving an immediate boost to the people they employ on low wages and many live in the local area too. Services that are contracted out can be reviewed at the time they expire and require a living wage for the future. It's not rocket science.”
Whichever football team you support, let's work as a team to end foul pay in football.
Please sign the petition calling on professional football league clubs to pay a living wage to all their employees at www.endfoulpay.org.uk.”
Ends
Contact: Rachel Harrison, GMB Organiser on 07539 061702 or GMB Press Office on 07974 251823.
