Living wage

Government proposals to introduce a National Living Wage of £7.20 are seen as a deliberate attempt to undermine the efforts of unions and campaigning groups who aspire to a proper Living Wage, said the STUC last month.

It said that chancellor George Osborne has blatantly sought to hijack the Living Wage message and peddle a diluted version that will still see hundreds of thousands of low-paid workers exposed to poverty pay without enough money to enjoy the very basic standard of living.

The Living Wage Foundation described the government’s proposal as “effectively a higher National Minimum Wage and not a living wage”. The UK Living Wage outside London is currently £7.85 per hour and in London it is £9.15 per hour.

www.stuc.org.uk/news/1175/stuc-statement-on-conservative-living-wage-and-employment

www.livingwage.org.uk/news/living-wage-foundation-response-budget-2015