As I hope some of you will see, I’ve never really sunk to anger on theses threads. I do believe that reason has its value, even on a fan site.
But today I’m furious. NC are looking for ‘volunteers’ to work ticket office and club shop in the ‘busy Xmas period’.
No. Louder. NO!

Please PLEASE have the dignity and decency to pay someone at this time at least the minimum wage, or better still the living wage. Do not have the temerity to hire a new commercial manager on an appropriate salary and then ask for volunteers to work a damn hard shift as a shop worker at Xmas. That would be a disgrace, especially in hard hit South Wales where on my street alone there is a food bank and a credit union.

Grow up, have some guts and act like a business. Otherwise this genuinely could mean the difference between my love for the club becoming a shame.

I’m sure volunteer was a misprint.... so do something about it.

We're a supporter funded, fan owned football club. When we acquired the club the need for volunteers was highlighted and has been since. I think, IIRC, the example was given of Hibernian FC (I think it was Hibs??) who placed a monetary value on the work done by their volunteers at around £100,000 a year. i'm not sure what ours would be valued at, since we occupy a stadium which isn't ours I'm not sure how many volunteer roles we'd need on a matchday, but the Kingsway shop is something we DO control, and I can't see that using volunteers is such a bad thing if people want to do it. The Trust isn't a charity, but if I had my way, it would be.
Yes in an ideal world we'd pay top dollar / the going rate for everything, but under the current model, volunteers can and should be deployed is so far as is practicable. Perhaps if the model changes, things will change somewhat, but I do imagine we'll still use volunteers.
Lots of football clubs use volunteers.

Still angry. Volunteers!
At Xmas!
Absolutely bl**dy disgraceful.
In the week we appoint a commercial manager! If he’s made this his first ‘commercial strategy’ he should be ashamed of himself.
If we cannot pay someone the barest respect by paying them a minimum wage to pull a working shift, then I really am not sure I want to be part of this trust. This has really angered me.

Last week My mate received a letter from a lady with two pound coins sellotaped inside with an apology for stealing a loaf of bread from his shop the week earlier because she had nothing in the house to eat. That’s where we are in this, our 21st century city.

If you want me to carry on paying my trust money, and indeed my gate money you’ll act like the employer and business you should be.

I ask all my fellow supporters to make a stand here and reject the clubs attempt to save pennies at the expense of a working man or woman at this time.

AR

This is a parody, isn't it?

Of something definitely......

Here's a thought, if you don't agree with it don't put your name forward. I'm sure you have plenty of new Directorships to be getting on with so you can bore us all with the details in your next rambling post.

Laters.

Simples

Leaving aside pension contributions, a low wage is one where your national insurance deduction is higher than your tax. Currently, for most people, that happens at around £17,000 per year. This is £9.08 per hour on a 36 hr week. What the government calls a living wage is actually a low wage.
The situation wherein food banks are needed by anyone is a sad indictment of modern life, and indeed, this very messageboard frequently supports such a venture in the City.
As sad as it is, none of this explains why we should not use volunteers. We knew this when we acquired the club.

I see both sides of this argument and I really am on the fence.

Could I though ask one thing? Whatever view you hold I am interested only in why you hold that view. A post of only a few words deriding one side or the other does nothing to add to the debate, in fact it detracts from it because it becomes the mob shouting down the individual.

As I say, I can see both sides of this argument. The idea that any viewpoint is not sustainable is in my view unfounded.

George Street-Bridge wrote:This is a parody, isn't it?

Clubs like Newport County rely of volunteers. I see that.

People who work for nothing take away jobs from people who desperately need those jobs. I see that.

If County use a volunteer in the shop the money saved will help our finances.

If County pay someone to staff the shop that money earned might mean a couple of kids of someone on a limited income might have a far better Christmas.

I can't pretend to know the answer. I fail to see how this conversation is a parody.

Having thought it through and whilst I see the other argument, it seems to me that we should pay for a shop worker.

Many worthwhile charities pay extortionate salaries for their CEO to develop strategies whilst relying on volunteers to raise the funds.

For me it is pretty simple , if you do not agree with it , do not volunteer, any money saving exercise is good for the club.

Alan G Bryant wrote:Many worthwhile charities pay extortionate salaries for their CEO to develop strategies whilst relying on volunteers to raise the funds.

For me it is pretty simple , if you do not agree with it , do not volunteer, any money saving exercise is good for the club.

I see your argument.

But. County are part of our community. Say somewhere in Newport there is a single mum. She works term time and is just about getting by. However whilst she wouldn't normally impose on her parents her own mum and dad can look after the child for three or four days in the run up to Christmas. Even on minimum wage that extra hundred pounds pays for a selection box of chocolates and a second hand play station. And her child has a great Christmas.

Another example and a true one. A shop close to me closed down a couple of years ago. It had been a thriving business employing four people. The business was buying and selling second hand furniture. House clearances. The owner of the business told me she couldn't compete with charity shops.

Back to our single mum. What if her eight year old son says 'stuff the PS2? I would rather you took me down the County. The enterprising young lad goes on to be thirty years from now to be a billionaire with a passion for Newport County. (Stranger things happen).

As I say I see your argument. Your belief it's simple has me baffled.

AmberRundgren. wrote:As I hope some of you will see, I’ve never really sunk to anger on theses threads. I do believe that reason has its value, even on a fan site.
But today I’m furious. NC are looking for ‘volunteers’ to work ticket office and club shop in the ‘busy Xmas period’.
No. Louder. NO!

Please PLEASE have the dignity and decency to pay someone at this time at least the minimum wage, or better still the living wage. Do not have the temerity to hire a new commercial manager on an appropriate salary and then ask for volunteers to work a damn hard shift as a shop worker at Xmas. That would be a disgrace, especially in hard hit South Wales where on my street alone there is a food bank and a credit union.

Grow up, have some guts and act like a business. Otherwise this genuinely could mean the difference between my love for the club becoming a shame.

I’m sure volunteer was a misprint.... so do something about it.

Thinking about it, the members are volunteers. Are you implying that they should also be paid for their man hours. What if the directors position came with a modest £15k salary per annum. That is £135k a year on board members.

No Joss Labadie or Dan Butler etc.

To quote from a post on another thread...... 'as soon as someone sees a chink, they'll dive in to critcise'. The poster?? None other than AmberRundgren.