Council chiefs urge firms to pay the living wage

Officers and councillors from Scarborough Borough Council have joined with trade union officials to officially launch its living wage plans.

In October, the council’s cabinet agreed to adopt a living wage for those staff on the three lowest pay grades - set at between £6.54 and £7.26 per hour. As a result the hourly rate for 48 staff will increase to £7.45.

Council bosses says the living wage will be backdated to July 1 2013 and arrangements are currently being made to achieve this.

Roger Kaye, Scarborough Borough Council corporate advisor on organisational change yesterday urged other employers in the area to follow its lead.

He said: “The council is committed to working towards alleviating wage poverty, so adopting a living wage for our lowest paid staff is the fairest and most logical step to take.

“In the longer term, our aspiration is to encourage other employers in the borough to do the same, not only by setting a direct example to others, but by making it a preferred criteria in our procurement process for those businesses we buy good and services from.”

The living wage is based on the amount of money that it is envisaged is needed to ensure that people are able to provide a decent standard of living for their families.

Earlier this month the UK rate rose to £7.65 per hour with the amount for those living in London increasing by 25p to £8.80 per hour. Those who have spoken in favour of the living wage include the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu.

The living wage is calculated by experts at Loughborough University but crucially it is set using public input on what are the basic basket of goods a working family could expect.