Time to stop calling workers heroes and pay staff for their professionalism

Our colleagues have pulled out all the stops and been nothing short of heroic during often very difficult times since the start of the pandemic,” said Mohsin and Zuber Issa, co-founders and CEOs of EG Group, the operator of more than 4,500 forecourts around Britain.

The brothers, who also own Asda, were announcing a 5 per cent pay rise for EG’s workers, which is no more than they deserve after what they’ve put up with during the fuel crisis, and which the company can clearly afford. Workers aged over 18 will be on £9.50 an hour as a result.

But the language used in the announcement is problematic, and here’s why. Heroes don’t get paid. At least, they don’t usually get paid. An act of heroism is typically a one-off. It’s used to describe someone doing something incredible, like saving a child from getting hit by a car or tackling a mugger on a dark street or volunteering to help rescue people trapped in some disaster.

They usually get cheered by the media and the public. They might get put up for a medal, or invited to a Buckingham Palace garden party, or something. But monetary compensation? No. And that’s not why they do it.

Certain people – and I’m not talking about the Issas here – use the word all too readily for the most cynical of reasons. Prime minister Boris Johnson would be a good example with his constant talk of “our NHS heroes”. When it comes to paying them? *Sucks air in through teeth* maybe we can squeeze together a little something but it’s a tough public spending round this year…

Then there are the hero carers. Remember how we all clapped for them? Why is it, then, that Unison is involved in a near-constant campaign, designed to draw attention to the miserable pay and poor conditions they endure?

Once again, it’s because we don’t pay heroes.

We do, however, pay professionals. And I would venture to suggest that it’s not heroism the Issa brothers’ workers have been showing. It is instead, professionalism. It is the latter that should be celebrated and rewarded.

They’ve had to deal with streams of swearing, physical threats, and sometimes violence. They’ve had to prevent fights between customers, with mixed results. They have, as the brothers correctly state, done a stand-up job. One that is worthy of reward.

We don’t often think of forecourt workers as “professionals”. When people speak of the “professional classes” they’re usually talking about doctors, lawyers, architects and accountants, occupations that are well rewarded.

And sure, it takes a lot of time and no small amount of graft to get into them. The required qualifications don’t come easy. You don’t need so many to get a job working at a petrol station.

But professionalism isn’t just about getting letters after your name. It is also about doing whatever job you do to a high standard, adapting to changed circumstances and coping with challenges.

Challenges are what the brothers’ workers have faced with the pumps running dry because of the shortage of lorry drivers caused by the hideous lack of professionalism demonstrated by Johnson and his ministers, which has brought the country to a standstill and pushed tempers to boiling point.

Challenges have also been posed to the supermarket workers who risked their lives going to work to keep the nation fed before there were vaccines, the carers I mentioned, NHS staff. Teachers and classroom assistants while we’re at it.

Some of them have been rewarded for their professionalism. Some of them have been called heroes and sent on their way.

There is one thing the Issa Brothers could and should now do in recognition of their workers’ professionalism: work towards securing accreditation from the Living Wage Campaign. Funnily enough, £9.50 an hour is its UK rate. But you have to make sure all your workers get it, regardless of age, and also your contractors. And it’s £10.85 in London.

Displaying the campaign’s badge on EG Group’s premises would be a marvellous way to recognise the way its workers have coped with a crisis. It would be even better if they applied it to Asda, which is run as a separate business. Its workers have also had to cope with a lot.