a tenner

I wanted to make the title of this post 'an important tenner', but what I accidentally wrote was  'an impotent tenner', of course, it's both important and impotent, I'll explain;

In November 2015 we had been sent home an hour early and then had £6.25 cut from our wages.

Well it wasn't from impotence that I've was given it at work yesterday, on the contrary, this was the result of us (minimum wage agency employees) claiming our entitlement to be paid for a whole shift.  And a big well done to those who contributed to this small but significant symbol of our entitlement to more humane conditions of employment.

Last week I saw a chocolate 2 for 1 offer and spent £6 on 4 bars of chocolate then realized I'd worked almost an hour for that treat from the bargain bucket at the supermarket, hmmmm, not a good impulse buy!!

But I'm getting side tracked, so here's the important tenner

So yes, it is important but it's also impotent because it was the union that reimbursed us and not our employer or the company for which we provide the labour; the agency remains exploitative, and the tenner has changed none of their inhumane practices, the important struggle for a living wage continues ...in agonizingly impotent small steps.