Unison and Unite were the main unions involved in a two-day strike in protest at the pay deal the Government is imposing on most workers in local government, which will mean most of them get increases that are less than the current rate of inflation – pay that is worth less.
Various pickets and marches were organised across the country, and I photographed a march by a couple of thousand trade unionists in central London on Wednesday.
I’m in favour of fairness over pay, and the public sector has always taken a knock when the government finds the financial going tough – and never makes things up when the economy booms. However I couldn’t help reflecting as I was taking pictures that many of the photographers there are scraping by on a fraction of what most local government workers earn, with fees for freelance work generally being much the same as they were 10 or even 20 years ago. The minimum wage doesn’t apply to freelances, and many would be financially better off in any full-time employment.
Many if not most people who try to make a living through photography fail. Often they spend a few years trying, then either give up completely or discover some other source of income to support them while they continue. I’ve known photographers whose living comes from renting property, from selling stuff on e-bay, from delivering milk, from gardening jobs, part-time teaching, waitressing and more. Many rely on partners who have regular paying jobs – some even in local government.
