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Richmond upon Thames Liberal Democrats:Covering the constituencies of Twickenham and Richmond Park |
Liberal Democrats win ‘living wage’ for council staff paid poverty wages
January 28, 2012 11:49 AM
• [Jan 25]: RICHMOND Council staff will all now be paid at least the rate of the London Living Wage (currently £8.30 an hour) thank to a resolution put forward by the Liberal Democrats and passed at last night's Council Meeting.
The London Living Wage is set annually by the Mayor of London as the minimum basic rate of pay that is needed to live in London. A total of 17 non school staff and 49 school staff are currently paid on hourly rates below the £8.30 level and will see wage rises as a result of the decision of up to 50p an hour. Whilst the London Living Wage is increased annually by the Mayor of London to take account of rising living costs, the pay rates in local government have been largely frozen for three years. This means that the lowest paid council staff are now paid about 50p an hour less than the London Living Wage.
Cllr Stephen Knight, Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Richmond Council, who proposed the motion, said: "I am delighted that the Council supported my proposal last night that we should pay all staff at least the level of the London Living Wage. This is great news for our lowest paid staff, who have been suffering particular hardship in the last year or two due to price rises."