Oil traders refuse to leave Brussels for London because of low pay

[alexakasloth]

Just pulled this out of the second link:

"As a hypothetical example, a London-based teacher who earned £30,000 in 2010 and currently earns £37,000 could be earning £46,000 today if wage growth had followed previous patterns."

Previous patterns? Really? Low inflation, and low interest rates persisted from 2008 to 2022 completely changing the economic landscape. This article is doing a comparison to the period 2000 to 2010

The language used is click-baity - ultimately it's a party political broadcast by the mayor of London, and to be taken with a pinch of salt

£30k in 2010 adjusted for inflation is £44600 today.

 

[Jono8]

UK wages are a joke.

Median salary should be £45k based on the increase in the price of everything.

 

[Jono8]

If you aren’t on £50k+ in the uk you are very poor. People making £30k now can’t even rent a house on their own, never mind buy a property. Yet lots of people are still on salaries in the £25k range. The UK and it’s people are pathetic.

It's because the median salary should be £45k, not £33k, if wages actually tracked the price of everything.

 

[BUDFORCE]

If you aren’t on £50k+ in the uk you are very poor. People making £30k now can’t even rent a house on their own, never mind buy a property. Yet lots of people are still on salaries in the £25k range. The UK and it’s people are pathetic.

I don't completely agree but it very much depends on where you live and costs associated.

In London, yes 100%, in some rural areas you'd be fine on 50k, depending on where of course.

I don't earn 50k, and I certainly don't consider myself poor, but I don't live in London, it not just housing but everything here is cheaper relatively, things like insurance etc, but a whole ton of stuff is cheaper than London.

It's easier for me though then people between 20-35 though, for that generation I'm more inclined to go with what you are saying.

Also being single is harder yet, if you are married or similar double income setup it's easier.

 

[delta0]

It's because the median salary should be £45k, not £33k, if wages actually tracked the price of everything.

Median full time is probably around £37k at the moment. Just based on it being £34,963 April 2023 and the pay increases were over 6%. There should be data from ONS on April 2024 towards the end of the year.

 

[Pipe & Slippers]

£30k in 2010 adjusted for inflation is £44600 today.

The comparison was based on the period up to 2022. Inflation has been v high over the last 2 years

 

[arknor]

we live in a feudal society

A feudal system (also known as feudalism) is a type of social and political system in which landholders provide land to tenants in exchange for their loyalty and service.

sounds legit, working away for a meagre existence, except they no longer provide land.


Peak civilization for the people was probably not long after hunter gatherers started forming permanent settlements, before someone came along and twisted the whole system so only a few benefit and everyone else is born into what's basically slavery.

Those "someone" that came along were likely the first politicians

 

[Hotwired]

Oil traders refuse to leave Brussels for London because of low pay

ExxonMobil said London was a better location for its trading activities

www.telegraph.co.uk

I think this why most are Leaving London or the UK.

Wages are pretty low in the UK, so bad that the skills they requested for the wage is just ridiculous.

I don't believe that article says what you're using it for.

Oil traders working for US giant ExxonMobil face losing their jobs because they refuse to leave Brussels for London over poor pay.

Staff at the multinational are reluctant to relocate to the British capital amid dissatisfaction with “uncompetitive” pay and a “lack of flexibility”, unions have warned.

You appear to be linking an article of workers saying pay and flexibility sucks at ExxonMobil, Brussels, therefore they won't cooperate with a department move to another country.

...and then saying it's proof of London pay sucking.

Is it really.

 

[weringo]

Trader salaries are well known to be significantly higher in the City in comparson to the continent.

My reading is that Exxon are not offering a market salary by City standards as compensation for the move. The Telegraph is pretty click-baity this days so not surprised they have got the wrong end of the stick or are deliberately trying to stir things up.

 

[jpaul]

can always read the BrowningBloomberg version

The terms being offered, however, aren’t satisfactory, according to an employee speaking under the condition of anonymity due to staff restrictions on speaking to the media. Employees have been told they risk losing their jobs if they refuse to move, while the new contracts would tie half of a trader’s pay to performance criteria that haven’t yet been revealed, the person said. Almost 80% of the traders affected don’t want to move to London due to family concerns and unsatisfactory moving conditions, according to a survey conducted by the unions.

at least the tax payer isn't financing the move - like the drug companies in cambridge, giga-factory - not exactly Biden's IRA

 

[Chuk_Chuk]

Has anyone created a graph comparing median salary in various G7 countries with inflation. (Might need to compare inflation on a country to country basis)

It would be interesting to see how things stack up in other countries.

 

[bayo000]

Can't say I blame them, if you gonna uproot your family and life you'll want to get paid well for it, likely even more than the market rate. I moved countries couple of times in my early 20s and even with no real ties I always made sure it's worth the hassle of leaving family/ friends. These days I'd want a lot more and especially if it was the company I work for forcing it.

 

[Quartz]

People making £30k now can’t even rent a house on their own

Try living somewhere cheaper. You can rent a 1 bed flat in Aberdeen for £425 per month. That's easily affordable for someone on £25k. And a search on ASPC shows 114 properties available for sale under £60k (technically the listings say 'over £X, but good luck with that right now).

 

[slinxy]

I can’t read the article because I’m not paying for a subscription.

It’s well known that traders salaries are meh, and that most of them rely on their yearly bonus to live the Gucci lifestyle. I’ve not kept my eye on the oil markets but I don’t expect it to be an easy period at the moment with the going ons in the Middle East at the moment.

Does the article say where the traders originate from? Are they the UK or is the company uprooting Belgium nationals because they can’t be bothered to pay the wages of British traders?

 

[Narj]

I really hope some of the younger people on here read this thread and realise exactly how hard they are being screwed.

Something has to change and I don't have the answers.

 

[Hotwired]

I can’t read the article because I’m not paying for a subscription.

It’s well known that traders salaries are meh, and that most of them rely on their yearly bonus to live the Gucci lifestyle. I’ve not kept my eye on the oil markets but I don’t expect it to be an easy period at the moment with the going ons in the Middle East at the moment.

Does the article say where the traders originate from? Are they the UK or is the company uprooting Belgium nationals because they can’t be bothered to pay the wages of British traders?

I wouldn't call it a paywall, more like a light gauze draped over the article.

Spoiler

Oil traders refuse to leave Brussels for London because of low pay​

Eir Nolsøe

2–3 minutes

Oil traders working for US giant ExxonMobil face losing their jobs because they refuse to leave Brussels for London over poor pay.
Staff at the multinational are reluctant to relocate to the British capital amid dissatisfaction with “uncompetitive” pay and a “lack of flexibility”, unions have warned.
An internal survey showed most said they would turn down the move for these reasons.
Up to 36 traders face losing their jobs if they turn down the relocation, according to a joint union statement in a story first reported by Bloomberg.
Those who relocate will be expected to work from the office five days a week and face being sacked if they refuse.
Unions are gearing up to protest outside the company’s offices in the Belgian capital on Tuesday.
ExxonMobil said it remained “open to resolving the situation” but London offered better proximity to trading activities, talent and “will support our evolution as a trading organisation”.
It comes after the business, which rivals Shell and BP, asked its traders to move to the UK to merge various teams, as part of a major expansion in trading.
Many of its trading staff are already in the UK, but the oil giant still employs people working on petroleum products and biofuel in Brussels.
Exxon has moved its UK traders from Leatherhead, Surrey, to the Square Mile and brought in cash bonuses to attract talent.
More than 300 employees, a third of the workforce, have left their jobs in Brussels over the past three years, the unions said.
They included the General Confederation of Liberal Trade Unions of Belgium, the Association of Employees, Technicians and Managers and the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions.
A statement published by the first warned that meetings with Exxon’s management had yielded no results and “employees have had enough”, pushing them to take action.
ExxonMobil employs around 2,000 UK staff. It operates the vast Fawley refinery in Hampshire, supplying most of the petrol and diesel sold in London and the South.
Pipelines from Fawley also send aviation fuel to Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

 

[hurfdurf]

Try living somewhere cheaper. You can rent a 1 bed flat in Aberdeen for £425 per month. That's easily affordable for someone on £25k. And a search on ASPC shows 114 properties available for sale under £60k (technically the listings say 'over £X, but good luck with that right now).

There are no jobs in these run down deprived areas.

Someone with a solid reliable job can’t just move 100 miles away, they would need a job in the area to move to. The reason the places are cheap is because they are rubbish. One of the reasons they are rubbish is because there are no jobs there.

 

[malachi]

There are no jobs in these run down deprived areas.

Someone with a solid reliable job can’t just move 100 miles away, they would need a job in the area to move to. The reason the places are cheap is because they are rubbish. One of the reasons they are rubbish is because there are no jobs there.

True.

You have to go where the jobs are unfortunately those areas have zero jobs or minimum wage jobs. Which itself is enough to barely get by in those areas.

 

[Narj]

True.

You have to go where the jobs are unfortunately those areas have zero jobs or minimum wage jobs. Which itself is enough to barely get by in those areas.

100% remote jobs don’t seem to be so much of a thing now either.

Quite a few people at my place got a shock when they were asked to come into the office again after relocating following COViD.

 

[Orangeade]

I can’t read the article because I’m not paying for a subscription.

It’s well known that traders salaries are meh, and that most of them rely on their yearly bonus to live the Gucci lifestyle. I’ve not kept my eye on the oil markets but I don’t expect it to be an easy period at the moment with the going ons in the Middle East at the moment.

Does the article say where the traders originate from? Are they the UK or is the company uprooting Belgium nationals because they can’t be bothered to pay the wages of British traders?

There's always money in volatility! Nothing worse than a flat market.