Thousands of workers in Scotland will benefit from the rise in the Living Wage by 60p to £12.60 an hour, but the council Leader, Cammy Day, has pointed out this will mean the council needs more funding.
Following agreement by the Policy and Strategy Committee, the Council Leader will write to both The Scottish Government and the UK Government requesting new funding for local councils to support a pay award for all workers, in line with calls from trade unions.
Council Leader Cammy Day said: “There are 80,000 people living in poverty in Edinburgh and because of the soaring cost of living, in-work poverty is rising.
“One of the most effective ways we can prevent hardship is to provide people with a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. We have close to 20,000 Council workers keeping our city clean, safe and moving, and we’re calling on Government to properly and fully fund a fair pay award for each one.”
Cllr Jane Meagher, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: “Thousands of workers across Edinburgh are set for a boost in pay from May thanks to the new Living Wage rate. Helping our city’s workers as the cost of living soars, the rate set by the Living Wage Foundation will rise by 60p to £12.60 an hour across the UK.
“Too many people in our city have been pushed into deprivation because of insecure work. It really can happen to any of us and that is why the Living Wage is such a powerful tool for making sure people are paid fairly for their work.
“Considering the increasing pressures businesses are also under, we are so appreciative of the way Edinburgh employers continue to lead the way in Scotland, making Living Wage the norm.”
https://www.livingwage.org.uk/news/real-living-wage-increases-£1260-uk-and-£1385-london
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
