News / Politics
Living Wage must be for all Bristol
Bristol council’s move to be a Living Wage employer must be a first step to introducing the pay rate for all the city’s low-paid workers, both Labour and Green spokesmen have said.
Tomorrow, councillors are set to approve a motion that will ensure all council staff will be paid a Living Wage as a minimum from October 1, 2014.
The motion also calls for moves to ensure council contractors are also paying staff the pay rate, currently set as £7.65 an hour. The national minimum wage will be £6.50 an hour from October 1.
Labour councillors say they will now be taking their campaign “to the next stage”, insisting that all the council’s contractors will have to be Living Wage employers, too.
“As well as increasing the pay of some 579 low-paid staff this scheme will help the economy locally because those staff spend the vast majority of their pay in local shops and businesses. This is what we want other employers to realise,” said Cllr Mike Wollacott.
“Indeed we do not understand why many employers pursue a low pay culture. Unpaid interns are common in Bristol. And while apprentices should be encouraged – they too should get the Living Wage.
“Bristol is often talked about as one of the richest cities outside London yet there is an astonishing gap between the rich and poor here. Thousands of our lowest paid have to claim benefits to make ends meet for their families. This means that taxpayers funding those benefits are subsidising low-pay employers. Paying the Living Wage cuts the benefits bill and boosts the economy.”
Meanwhile, the Green Party’s parliamentary candidate for Bristol South has called for the Living Wage to be rolled out nationally.
Writing for Bristol 24/7,Tony Dyer said that if council employees were worthy of a decent day’s pay then those working in similar jobs in the private sector or in organisations such as the NHS were deserving, too.
“If kitchen staff serving up school meals for pupils, or serving up hospital meals for patients are clearly worthy of a decent rate of pay, then surely those working in the private sector serving up hotel meals to guests, or restaurant meals for customers, are, too,” he said.
“A Living Wage council is good, but a Living Wage country would be even better.”
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