TUC: Employers need to pick up the pace and adopt the real Living Wage

1 Nov 2016 01:00 PM

The Living Wage Foundation has yesterday (Monday) announced that the Living Wage rate will increase by 20p to £8.45 per hour, while the London Living Wage rate will increase by 35p to £9.75.

Commenting on the increase, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“This is a welcome rise. Working people should have the right to expect a fair days pay for an honest day’s work.

“It’s great to see another 1,000 employers signing up, but millions of families are still blighted by low pay. Good employers need to pick up the pace and adopt the real Living Wage.

 “The fight for decent pay won’t be won just by employer goodwill, however. We need strong unions who can negotiate with employers and win fair pay for their members, along with a rise in the government’s minimum wage.

“Unlike the government’s minimum wage, this real Living Wage is based on a review of the evidence on what is happening to people's living standards right now. The Living Wage Commission has used a robust single approach to calculating what people need to live in London and the UK."

Notes to Editors:

• The real Living Wage is a voluntary standard that has so far been adopted by about 3,000 employers, including more than 30 of the FTSE-100 companies and many smaller businesses, charities and public sector workplaces. The real Living Wage is administered and accredited by the Living Wage Foundation: www.livingwage.org.uk
• The new rates were announced yesterday (Monday) simultaneously in London, Glasgow, Manchester and Edinburgh. Real Living Wage accredited employers have until 1 April 2017 to adopt the new rate.
• The real Living Wage must not be confused with the government’s national living wage, which is simply the name given to the statutory national minimum wage rate for those aged 25 and above, currently set at £7.20. Although the government’s 'national living wage' provides an important legal minimum, it is not calculated according to what employees and their families need to live, hence the lower figure.
• All TUC press releases can be found at tuc.org.uk/media
• TUC Press Office on Twitter: @tucnews