Living Wage initiative announced
As part of its ongoing work to tackle poverty and the root causes of poverty, CPF has pledged approximately £850,000, over four years, to research and champion the implementation of a living wage across London. It is estimated that, in London: 400,000 people are currently living below the poverty line; and 1 in 7 of full-time London workers and almost half of part time workers are paid at a rate below the poverty threshold.
The campaign to promote a living wage in London has gathered steam since 2001 and seeks to improve wages and employment conditions for some of the most disadvantaged people in London. The Living Wage is strongly supported by the previous and current Mayor of London. Mayor Johnson stated: "Paying the London Living Wage is not only morally right, but makes good business sense too".
CPF will commission independent research on the longer-term impact and potential benefits to employers and employees of a living wage. London Citizens has also been funded to set up a Living Wage Unit to establish a dedicated team which will undertake monitoring, compliance and accreditation of the Living Wage Employer scheme.
In addition, the unit will specifically target employers within the public and retail sectors (CPF funding has previously helped in targeting the higher education sector and the hospitality and hotels industry). London Citizens estimates that an additional 22,000 staff within the public and voluntary sector will benefit alongside 200 employers. Similarly, 100 employers in the private sector are expected to sign up which would benefit an estimated 15,000 additional staff. Over the four years the benefit to directly employed staff is estimated at £111 million across the various sectors.
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