Andy Burnham targets Living Wage City-region status

Andy Burnham has stated his ambitions to transform Greater Manchester into a Living Wage City-region.

Andy Burnham spoke on Monday 9th November at the Living Wage Foundation (LWF) North West webinar to mark the beginning of Living Wage Week. He told attendees he plans to convene business leaders in Greater Manchester to oversee proposals to increase the number of accredited Living Wage Employers across the city-region’s 10 boroughs.

Mr Burnham also recognised the 110 organisations accredited by LWF since 2018 for paying all directly employed and third-party contracted staff the organisations living wage to meet everyday needs. This year saw the hourly living wage increase to £9.50. Payment of the Real Living Wage was also made a key part of Greater Manchester’s Good Employment Charter.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said:

I want to celebrate employers who are accredited Living Wage Employers and encourage others to follow their lead, making sure their workers are paid a wage that meets the cost of living. In uncertain times, these employers are doing the right thing by their staff.

“I can announce that I will be working with partners across the conurbation over the coming months to make Greater Manchester a Living Wage City-Region.

“I recognise that individual organisations will need to engage with this ambition at their own pace, and that this may prove especially challenging for some in the current environment. However, this announcement clearly demonstrates Greater Manchester’s commitment to the real Living Wage and good employment in the city-region – ensuring that our citizens earn enough to make ends meet, creating an inclusive economy and helping us to build back better.”

7000 employers across the UK, including 270 in Greater Manchester, have committed to paying staff the LWF’s Real Living Wage as a minimum to all staff. However, research by the organisation has found that 5.5 million workers, a fifth of the UK’s workforce and rising to a quarter in many towns and cities in the North and Midlands of England, are still paid less than the minimum to cover cost-of-living.

Cllr Elise Wilson, Leader of Stockport Council and GMCA Lead for Economy, said:

Since 2011, more than £1.3 billion in extra wages has been paid to low-paid workers thanks to the Living Wage movement, with £800m going to people in key worker industries.

“As a result of the accreditation of 270 Living Wage Employers in Greater Manchester since the start of the movement, including 110 in the past two years, more than 9,000 employees have been uplifted to the real Living Wage. This has put an additional £20 million into the pockets of low-paid workers. It shows how much we value people’s hard work and we want to support employees to lead fulfilling and productive working lives in this city-region.”

Laura Gardiner, Living Wage Foundation Director, said:

It’s an incredibly challenging time for us all, but today’s new Living Wage rates will give a boost to hundreds of thousands of UK workers, including thousands of key and essential workers like cleaners, care workers, and delivery drivers who have kept our economy going. 

“Since the start of the pandemic employers have continued to sign up to a real Living Wage. During Living Wage Week it’s right that we celebrate those employers that have done right by workers and families, providing them with much needed security and stability even when times are hard. These are the employers that will allow us to recover and rebuild from this crisis.”