Married at first glance illuminates a culture of worker compensation as little as possible | Van Badham | Opinion

If my Facebook feed is an indication, the reality TV show "Married at first glance" is crying a lot for its recent conclusion. Nevertheless, its principle remains a concept that escapes me.

I do not like the taste of people for horror movies or Kardashians, so I will not let down those who love what is in search of both. I've gently avoided the six seasons of the program and let myself go to a more realistic entertainment. Like Star Trek.

But I fell to the ground last week when a report revealed the interests of MAFS stars aligned closely with mine. Namely, their most sustainable relationship may well be the avatar of the current low wage crisis in Australia.

Telv Williams, of MAFS 2018, was quoted last week in News Corp.'s Confidential, claiming that the notoriety gained by the show's attendees had been purchased at a low price. He claims that only $ 150 a day – free of charge – was paid to the competitors presented during his season, despite employment conditions that were related to unstable contracts in the short term and permanent availability. That's almost $ 300 less per week than the median full-time salary in Sydney at the time.

"It's crap, it's crap," Williams said. "All is well, you do not care about your back … You have to do your hair and put on makeup. You have to make your own dress, buy your own clothes.

Save a thought for participants from previous seasons. All of MAFS 'concert has to have the most intimate details of his personal life spread across the TV slab – but Season 2 contender, Jono Williams, told KIIS FM in 2017 that he's not going to be the best. had been paid only $ 150 a week for his show but without having to move from his home.

This phenomenon needs a name. Given the damage that trash TV is known to have on the lives of its participants, we think of the "drecksploitation".

MAFS has recorded audiences of up to 2.4 million listeners for some episodes – a resounding success in Channel Nine audiences, which translates into huge levels of profitable advertising revenue.

Thus, the reality component of the MAFS is not about love, but money, as well as income disparities proportional to the profits it reflects in the country.

Australian wages as a whole rose only 0.5% in the last quarter of December, according to the ABS. In the construction sector alone, last year's profit growth was 24.2% in nominal terms – but the wage growth of its workers was only 1.5%.

Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe reiterated his warnings about the economic danger of low wages before the government as recently as in February. And 120 labor market researchers signed an open letter calling for interventions to raise wages, listing the risks: "lower consumer spending, increased household debt and financial stress, slower growth in government revenues and worsening inequalities ".

Last week – and a long time ago – there was a political debate about the affordability of electric cars. It is not mentioned enough that low wage growth means that consumers can not afford a car, whether electric or not. The industry website, Car Advice, talks about a 7.9% drop in new vehicle sales this year.

This is the lowest figure in the first quarter since 2014, which led the CBA to conclude: "It is very plausible that new car sales are a harbinger of an impending (economic) fate" .

This is not the only one. Although home prices have fallen, loans for first-time homebuyers have dropped 16% this year. Low wages are attributed to a collapse of the retail trade. The chief economist of SBS explained that "the relief of household spending" was below Australia and entered "a recession per capita".

The conservative insistence that if you do not like what you are paid, find another job – candidate at MAFS or not – does not really care about water while there is already 3.63 job seekers for every job vacancy known to the labor market – a figure that reaches 9.7 if part-time workers who are looking for a full-time job are accounted for.

And those who have been rebadured about the future rich after MAFS are waiting, uh, the coverage of events and the influence of influences on Instagram should take note: in The chilling news for the economy workers of the big economy, the income of those occupying more than one job to pay the bills decreases in proportion to the number of jobs they occupy. Recent data from the ABS clearly indicate that the median income from a full-time job is $ 48,344 per year. For those who work two jobs, it drops to $ 44,531. Add a third or fourth, it falls again.

No one is held responsible and forced to switch to MAFS – as much as it would be a new and exciting reality TV site.

But what everyone should be watching is how these people work for really less than the benefit of their work.

This alone should indicate all that working Australians need to know before participating in this election.

Because even the people whose lives are being sold as a commercial entertainment product to millions of people have, like the rest of us, been married to the most aggressive employment culture in our memory. Australian life. It's a culture ready – at first sight – to pay its workers as little as it knows it can get away with.