Mayor champions Living Wage for regional growth

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness has described the Living Wage a ‘moral imperative’ to tackle low pay and child poverty, while helping to boost local economic prospects.

The mayor highlighted the importance of the real Living Wage at a Living Wage Week event in North Shields, urging public sector organisations, schools, and colleges to lead the way as part of the region’s fight against child poverty and low pay.

Speaking at St Cuthbert's RC Church, she said: “Put simply, there is a moral imperative to make the North East a living wage region. 

“Obviously, the Combined Authority I lead is fully behind the Living Wage goal. We pay the Living Wage, our new organisation will be accredited as such, and we work with our providers as much as possible to encourage them to as well. 

“The public sector obviously has a role to play in setting an example. That’s why I’m proud to back the call for our region’s schools and colleges to sign up to the Living Wage campaign.  

“When we set out to end child poverty, we can’t overlook the support staff, the cleaners and those who serve our children's dinners all play a role in providing the educational spaces that create opportunity.  

“And of course, many of those workers will be parents themselves, looking at their bank balance and wishing there was more to go around.

“We’ll find stories like that in public sector organisations all across the region. These are institutions that are committed to a better North East, that just need to go that little bit further internally to help get us there.” 

The initiative aims to build on progress made by Sunderland City Council and Newcastle City Council, who have been key supporters of their Living Wage City action groups, working with major employers and civic institutions to drive forward the Living Wage in their cities. 

The new Living Wage rates outside of London is £12.60 per hour, higher than the Government’s statutory minimum wage of £11.44.  

With a November summit on child poverty and opportunity on the horizon, the mayor is pushing to make the North East a ‘Living Wage Region’. Despite improvements, the region still lags behind the rest of the country in relation to Living Wage accredited employers. At present, there are just over 300 accredited Living Wage employers with around 9,500 workers receiving a pay rise.   

David Van der Velde, North East programme manager for the Living Wage Foundation, added: “The Living Wage Foundation has been campaigning to address low pay and precarious work for more than a decade.

“The North East region, more than any other needs this change so that all our workers feel valued.

“We look forward to working alongside the Combined Authority and with leaders from across business, public sector and civil society, so that our businesses, families and communities thrive and so that we can enhance the social and economic resilience of our region.” 

Employers can find out more about the Living Wage and get involved by clicking here.

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