There’s a saying by a wise old man called Confucius who said if you do a job you love, you never have to work a day in your life. Warm words. But I think it’s safe to say he wasn’t a journalist. Or a nurse. Or a teacher. Or a social worker.

With tube cleaners striking this week over demands for fairer pay and council staff in Haringey preparing to do the same this July it seems I’m not the only one who’s had enough of not being able to make a decent living wage despite doing jobs that we love (maybe not the tube cleaners so much) that make a valuable contribution to society.

Ironically, the job done by care workers who look after vulnerable adults and children is so important that they can’t actually strike because their absence would mean putting lives in danger. So why can’t they be paid accordingly?

In the run-up to pay day it became all too apparent how raw our own deal was. It started with the discovery of noodles that cost 25pence. Yes, it may sound disgusting but they’re actually quite tasty (read as "adequately salty") especially because that’s about all we can afford. Has it really come to this?

It’s the Thatcher years all over again. With extortionate London rent to pay. And a credit crunch to battle.

So my mind got wondering. I started thinking about Thatcher and other things the iron lady used to say. Each according to their ability, she said. So why, a degree and a masters later am I being paid less than a shopworker? I’m able, I am. Why have I been forced into the humiliating position of rejoicing at the thought of a lunch that costs 25p?

Those of us who aren’t being given our just desserts have to watch on sadly while footballers get paid thousands of pounds a week to kick a piece of leather on a patch of grass. Earning so much that they support an entire new industry called Wagdom - where the job requirements seem to stop and start with the successful application of fake tan.

Is it any wonder that the nurses and teachers are a dying breed and the queues for Big Brother auditions get longer? Where the opportunity to humiliate yourself for our viewing pleasure will lead to five minutes of fame and an interview deal that secures a decent deposit for a mortgage. Who's laughing now?

We simply have to ask the powers that be: what is going on? Can those who contribute to society, society, society (like those who work in education, education, education) get a better and more competitive salary?

I was pleased to see this week that MPs in London were asked to cut down on their expenses and I’m even more pleased to report that some of them are already putting this into practice. Take Tottenham MP David Lammy for instance. When we met for lunch last week he took me to a greasy spoon and offered me a cup of tea. Of course I’m grateful. But I’m also hungry.

And that reminded me of another expression — there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Even for those of us on the bread line.

Mmm...bread.