Over 900 Warwickshire Council employees earn less than living wage

Over 900 employees of Warwickshire County Council (WCC) earn less than the UK’s Living Wage of £7.85, stated a WCC cabinet member at the Council’s latest meeting.

The rate, proposed by the Living Wage Foundation, is an hourly wage set independent of the government’s National Minimum Wage. The Living Wage is updated annually for inflation and to account for differences in regional living costs (the London Living Wage is £9.15 per hour).

The nearby councils of Coventry, Birmingham, Nuneaton and Bedworth, and Warwick District have “all recently become Living Wage employers”, said the Green party’s county councillor, Jonathan Chilvers of Leamington Brunswick Council:

“Warwickshire CC puts together strategies to end child poverty, but at the same time, it pays a wage that leaves its employees struggling to make ends meet.”

“Many employers now recognise that a low pay economy is bad for them too. Higher pay means better productivity and a lower turnover of staff.”

According to the WCC Greens’ press release, one in five employees across the UK is paid less than the Living Wage, amounting to a total of over five million people across the country.

The voluntary wage was increased by 20p in November to its latest rate of £7.85, which is 21 percent higher than the government’s National Minimum Wage of £6.50.

The Living Wage has so far been adopted by over 1,000 employers across the country, benefiting 35,000 workers, according to the BBC.