Wages not wine!

Students are revolting.

Nothing particularly new there, especially when you add King’s into the mix. Today, however, they held a protest in favour of ‘wages not wine.’ The protest was attended by approximately 50 campaigners.

No wine-ing about the rain from these guys

King’s tops the lot in terms of both wine expenditure (over £300,000 a year) and employees paid below the Living Wage (123).

The Living Wage is set independently at a rate at which it is possible to afford the basic costs of living. Currently, it’s at £7.65 an hour. The amount spent on providing free wine for fellows would cover the cost of paying college staff.

Unfortunately, more coats and rain than Cotes Du Rhone

Protesters were equipped with natty cardboard signs

The organisers of the protest, Barney McCay and Daisy Hughes said, “King’s should be embarrassed because they are ignoring their social duties at a time when having a job no longer ensures freedom from poverty”.

A porter at the College, Chris Clarke, agreed saying the Living Wage “is about basic fairness. I just think it’s the right thing to do”.

Empty wine bottles were used to set the scene

King’s lefty reputation, confirmed by yesterday’s vote to keep the Soviet flag flying in the bar, hasn’t quite extended to the College leadership.

Keith Carne, the first bursar, has defended the wine expenditure arguing that overall the college make a profit on it and dismissing the stats used by the Living Wage campaign.

First year Gabriel Fleming, thinks he’s missing the point.

“The wine figures demonstrate that the college is prioritising perks for fellows over basic fairness”.

The Tab awaits the King’s students’ next political move with anticipation.