FEATURE Rural realities
‘WHEN YOU DON’T EARN ENOUGH TO LIVE ON’
The cost of living crisis has been widely reported for weeks now. Set to take living standards back to the 1950s – The Office for Budget Responsibility reported that it would be the biggest fall in a single financial year since records began.
But on the Island of Guernsey – believed by many to be a playground of the rich – for some years now low paid key workers are paying the price of rising living costs. With nowhere left in their budgets to cut money from, Unite members are doing the jobs that keep the island going – but which simply don’t pay enough.
Coupled with the cost of living crisis is the State of Guernsey’s proposed GST (Goods and Services Tax) – Guernsey’s version of VAT. This has been islanders biggest worry and countless families are already struggling to make ends meet.
But politicians say GST is something they have to consider to address the £85m shortfall in funding for the islands’ services.
For those in low waged jobs, it’s been more than just a worry. Many are living hand to mouth, constantly fearful of falling into spiralling debt and even the possibility of losing the roof over their heads or forced to leave the island entirely.
“When you don’t earn enough to live on you can never get ahead,” explains Neil*, a sewage cart driver for the State.
“Not having any savings means anything unexpected like something going wrong on the car or one of the kids getting ill and needing to see a doctor pushes you into debt,” he added.
Guernsey is not part of the NHS and residents must pay for primary healthcare and emergency treatment. It costs £54 for a consultation with a GP.
Neil’s job is perhaps viewed as undesirable by some, but is absolutely essential in keeping the island running. He gets up at 4 am
30 uniteLANDWORKER Summer 2022
every morning and works a second job to top up his low wages.
He says here, like in so many other rural places, that the house prices and cost of living are so disproportionate to the wages that everyday living is a struggle. “We can’t afford to live. We are just existing,” says Neil. “We don’t ever go out at all really. Our last holiday was 20 years ago and we haven’t left the island since,” he added.
The standard hourly rate for a sewage cart driver is £13.94 per hour. Neil’s wife works part time in a shop earning £10 an hour. The rent for their four bedroomed house should be £3,500 a month but Neil’s rent has been reduced a bit by doing odd jobs for his landlord.
“The rental market is tough and leases are not usually longer than a couple of years. At the end of the lease it’s likely the landlord will put the rent up so it just makes sense to stay where we are.”
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