POOR'S PAY REIGNED IN

There were muted celebrations from cleaners at Buckingham Palace last week as they won a pay rise from £6.45 to the princely sum of £7.50 per hour – still short of the London Living Wage of £8.30 they had been campaigning for.

Sadly Her Majesty’s altruism has its limits. On the day the pay rise was announced, hospitality contractor ‘Off To Work’ was offering shifts for a “wonderful team” to work at Windsor Castle for £6.81 per hour. Part of Off To Work’s “company vision” is that people “should feel like kings for one small moment” – presumably it wasn’t referring to its staff.