IT’S “Living Wage Week” – and Warrington North MP Helen Jones has added her support to the Living Wage Foundation campaign.
More than 1,800 businesses across the country are committed to paying their employees and sub-contracted staff the Living Wage.
The living wage is calculated based on the cost of living and is higher than minimum wage rates.
The UK Statistics Authority estimate that 11,000 (22.5 per cent) of jobs in Warrington North pay less than the living wage.
As of this week, the new Living Wage rates – calculated by independent academics – are £8.25 outside London and £9.40 in London.
The MP said: “I am happy to add my support to the Living Wage Foundation. It is independent of government and calculates the Living Wage rates based on the cost of living. It shows up the government’s so called national living wage scheme for the gimmick it is.
“The government scheme will be introduced at £7.20 per hour from next April. The Living Wage was already calculated at £7.85 per hour and has increased today to £8.25, in line with the cost of living. It also applies to all employees over the age of 18 whilst the government’s scheme will only apply to those over 25.
“Nearly a quarter of jobs in my constituency pay under the old living wage rate of £7.85 per hour. That is simply not good enough. If the government is serious about tackling low wages it needs to think again and adopt the Living Wage Foundation’s rates and apply them to everyone over 18 years old.”
MP backs new “Living Wage”
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The living wage and minimum wage should be one and the same thing.
Any employer who is paying less than £8.25 an hour is in effect being subsidised by the state via benefits payments to their workers.
If employers genuinely can’t afford to pay this amount then Government funding or loans should be made available for them to claim direct rather than their workers having to go with the begging bowl for them.