GMB call on Thanet Council to abandon sale of small business workshops

GMB call on Thanet council to call off the sale of small business workshops in St Peter’s in Broadstairs which is putting the future of 22 small companies that operate from the site at risk.

Dane Valley Enterprise Units, which were established in 1985, has been included on Thanet Councils ‘Asset Disposal list’ and will be sold at public auction to the highest bidder.

Karen Constantine, GMB regional officer and Labour councillor in Thanet said, “This sale, which puts at risk the livelihood of 22 small business owners, must be stopped and the council must come back with a better plan to safeguard these businesses and jobs.

The priority must not be for asset disposal but for jobs. Thanet’s economy needs to be thoroughly regenerated to bring to the area new well-paid jobs that are part of the economy in London and other areas of the country but this should not include disposing of areas where jobs already exist.

Average earnings in the area, at £24,150 per year, are well below those of London (£33,776) and the South East (£30,752) and comes at the bottom of the Kent league table. (See notes to editors for GMB average earnings press release)

Regeneration should be part of a much needed wider regeneration in East Kent. This will not happen by accident and requires a partnership between local and national government and between public and private sectors.

The people of Thanet have to demand that all elected political office holders in the area campaign for action from national and local government to lead the regeneration of the area to end the days of Thanet being at the bottom of the Kent league for pay.

I will lead the campaign for the gap between Thanet and other parts of the country, including London, to be closed.”

Contact: Karen Constantine on 07984 532212, Michelle Gordon on 07866 369259

Notes to Editors

1 Karen Constantine is the Labour Party candidate for the Ramsgate ward for the 2017 Kent County Council elections.

2 GMB Press release 28 October 2016

£24,150 AVERAGE EARNINGS FOR FULL TIME WORKERS RESIDENT IN THANET IS BOTTOM OF THE KENT PAY LEAGUE NEW OFFICIAL SURVEY SHOWS

Thanet’s economy needs to be thoroughly regenerated to bring to the area new well paid jobs that are part of the economy in London and other areas of the country says Labour Party candidate.

The median average pay for full-time workers resident in Thanet is £24,150 according to the new Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings published on 26 October 2016 by the Office for National Statistics.

This puts Thanet at the bottom of the average pay league for all council areas in Kent with those in Thanet earning £4,063 less than the UK average, £4,945 less than the Kent average and £9,222 less than those resident in Tonbridge and Malling.

The UK average annual earnings figure is £28,213, in London the figure is £33,776 and in Kent, £29,095.

Set out in the table below are the 2016 median annual earnings figures for the 12 council areas in Kent ranked by those with the highest median annual earnings.

The tables have been compiled by GMB Southern Region for Karen Constantine, Ramsgate Labour Party candidate for the Ramsgate ward for the 2017 Kent County Council elections. See notes to editors for sources and definitions and figures for the mean average earnings for the same areas.

Gross Annual Pay for full-time employees – 2016

Karen Constantine said “Thanet’s economy needs to be thoroughly regenerated to bring to the area new well paid jobs that are part of the economy in London and other areas of the country.

This regeneration should be part of a much needed wider regeneration in East Kent. This will not happen by accident and requires a partnership between local and national government and between public and private sectors.

The people of Thanet have to demand that all elected political office holders in the area campaign for action from national and local government to lead the regeneration of the area to end the days of Thanet being at the bottom of the Kent league for pay.

I will lead the campaign for the gap between Thanet and other parts of the country, including London, to be closed. I will also seek to end the two tier workforce in the public sector so that contractor’s workers get the same terms and conditions as directly employed staff.”