Exeter City Council to pay Living Wage
Exeter City Council has announced it will begin paying its staff the ‘living wage’.
64 council staff will see their hourly pay rise to £7.65 per hour from January 1 next year.
The decision is designed to encourage businesses in Exeter to also make the move onto the higher pay standard as the council believes it will boost the local economy.
"Research has shown that people living in Exeter are some of the lowest paid in the south west," said Council Leader Pete Edwards.
He continued: "Paying people a 'living wage' helps reduce poverty and dependence on benefits. It also means there is more money to be put back into the local economy, allowing Exeter to continue to grow and flourish."
The living wage is an independently set and is designed to let people maintain a safe, decent standard of living. Unlike the minimum wage it is set alongside cost of living and is voluntarily adopted.
An independent study examining the business benefits of implementing a Living Wage policy in London found that more than 80% of employers believe that the Living Wage had enhanced the quality of the work of their staff, while absenteeism had fallen by approximately 25%.
Two thirds of employers also reported a significant impact on recruitment and retention within their organisation while 70% of employers felt that the Living Wage had increased consumer awareness of their organisation’s commitment to be an ethical employer.
Moving the 64 council staff onto the living wage will cost around £28,000 for the current financial year but is excepted to make savings by reducing the amount of benefit given.
Research shows that the lowest paid full time workers living in Exeter receive no more than £6.56 an hour compared to £7.22 in Plymouth and £7.19 in Bristol.
Cllr Edwards added: "I appreciate that these are difficult financial times for everyone and there are no easy answers, but there are things that we can do to pull ourselves away from this challenging position and that is why we are taking a lead and proposing that all our workers are paid at least a 'living wage'.
“Hopefully other businesses in the city will follow our example."
Kit Leary of the South West TUC welcomed the news: “We congratulate Exeter City Council for showing great leadership by agreeing to implement the Living Wage for their staff.
“Hopefully this will give a massive boost to the incomes of Exeter City Council’s workers and to their local communities. We want to see Exeter as a Living Wage city and we will work with Exeter City Council and our partners to make this a reality.”
The Living wage has received cross party support with London Mayor Bois Johnson having supported the living wage’s introduction into London businesses.
The London Living wage is set at £8.80 per hour to reflect the much higher cost of living in the city.
