Rutherglen’s MSP has welcomed the recent increase in the real Living Wage and is urging the UK Government to follow the lead of Scotland’s and become an accredited employer.
The increase, up 60p to £12.60 per hour, came into effect on Wednesday, October 23. The rise for those living in London is higher, 70p, taking the hourly rate up to £13.85.
The real Living Wage is based on the cost of living and is different to the UK minimum wage, which is referred to as the National Living Wage.
Employers choose to pay the real Living Wage on a voluntary basis, recognising the value of their workers and ensuring that they receive a fair day’s pay.
A full-time worker earning the new real Living Wage (outwith London) will earn £2,262 more a year than a worker earning the current National Living Wage, which is the UK minimum wage.
Clare Haughey MSP has highlighted that the Scottish Government has championed the real Living Wage since becoming an accredited employer in 2015.
In Scotland, all organisations that receive grants from public bodies are legally required to pay the real Living Wage.
Because of these policies, Scotland now has around five times more accredited real Living Wage employers than the rest of the UK – with nearly 90 per cent of workers aged over 18 in Scotland being paid the real Living Wage or above.
However, the UK Government is not currently a real Living Wage accredited employer.
Clare Haughey, who herself has been a real living wage employer since her election in 2016, said: “After sky-high increases in the cost of living over the past few years, this will be a welcome boost for workers here in Rutherglen and Cambuslang, and across Scotland.
“The Scottish Government has been a champion for the real Living Wage since 2015, when it became a real Living Wage accredited employer, and then made it a legal requirement for all organisations receiving grant funding from a public body to pay the real Living Wage.
“This has made a real difference across Scotland, which has the highest proportion of workers being paid the real Living Wage or above anywhere in the UK.
“However, while both Scottish and Welsh Governments are accredited Living Wage employers, the UK government currently is not.
“I’d urge the new Labour UK government to put its money where its mouth is on workers’ rights and follow the SNP Scottish Government’s example by implementing the real Living Wage in their own government.”
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