COUNCIL LEADER ANNOUNCES INCREASE TO THE GLASGOW LIVING WAGE
The Leader of Glasgow City Council has announced that Glasgow Living Wage is to increase to £7.20 an hour from April 2012.
The scheme was launched by Glasgow City Council in 2009 to tackle in-work poverty and support those who struggle to survive carrying out low paid work.
Glasgow City Council was the first local authority in Scotland to establish a living wage. It also decided to pay all its employees an income that increased the basic salary of the lowest paid council worker by more than £1100 a year.
Through the creation of a Glasgow Living Wage employer award, the council has been working with companies across the city and some on the outskirts who mainly employ Glaswegians, to sign up to the scheme and demonstrate their businesses pay the level of income required to provide an acceptable standard of living. More than 150 organisations, employing more than 50,000 people, have signed up to the Glasgow Living Wage.
Councillor Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “When Glasgow City Council first discussed the possibility of establishing a Glasgow Living Wage, the world was a different place. The economy was buoyant, unemployment was low and the number of jobs being created across the country was increasing all the time.
“But times have changed. In Glasgow, we are relatively well placed to avoid the worst effects of recession due to the massive body of work associated with the Commonwealth Games but we have still felt an impact.
“However, for me, this actually strengthens the case for tackling low pay. We know that in times of recession, the impact is most keenly felt by low paid workers.
“I have always believed that work is the best and most sustainable route out of poverty and yet recent studies have shown that the majority of children living in poverty in the UK have at least one parent in paid employment.
“The message from this is clear: low paid, transient, unskilled work is not sufficient to lift people out of poverty and that is something that all tiers of government must address.”
Councillor Matheson added: “I believe that the introduction of the Glasgow Living Wage has been a vital step towards creating a fairer, more prosperous Glasgow where all citizens have the opportunity to share in the city’s success. That is my number one priority.
“The introduction of the Glasgow Living Wage has made a real difference to the lives of thousands of people across Glasgow and will continue to do so. I am delighted to announce that the Glasgow Living Wage will increase to £7.20 per hour from April, in line with the Scottish Living Wage Campaign figure.”
The Glasgow Living Wage was set at £7 an hour when it was launched in 2009.
This was increased to £7.15 last year.
The latest announcement takes it up to £7.20 from April 2012.
The council has also used its procurement strategy to encourage wider implementation of the living wage by asking contractors to give their workers the same rights we give ours. The living wage is now explicitly built into our sustainable procurement policy, and we are keen to use this proactively – within the limits of the law – to encourage employers across the city to pay a living wage.
There are up to 80,000 workers in Glasgow earning less than a living wage and this policy has the potential to improve the lives of thousands of families across the city. We know that the majority of those who earn below the living wage figure are women and believe this policy can help tackle the gender pay gap.