Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire District Councils have extended their policy of paying the Real Living Wage thanks to proposals put forward by two Green councillors this week.
The Councils had agreed in principle in February 2023 to ensure staff directly employed by them receive a minimum of the Real Living Wage as annually defined by the Living Wage Foundation. However, the Councils are currently unable to actually become accredited as a Real Living Wage employer as they do not have a plan in place to ensure that all the contracts they award to third party companies are committed to paying this.
Councillors Katherine Foxhall (Vale) and Jo Robb (SODC) brought the proposal for the Councils to secure accreditation as soon as possible and to take steps as contracts are renewed to ensure that no Council employee or employee of its third party contractors should be employed on less than the Real Living Wage.
Speaking at the Vale Full Council meeting on 11 October, Cllr Foxhall said “A Real Living Wage simply represents the amount a worker should earn to give their family a basic but acceptable standard of living. This change in policy will send a clear message to our residents that we value our swimming teachers, our refuse collectors, and our parking attendants among many other staff who work for our contractors. It will also say to the companies we do business with that we expect them to demonstrate the same, and that we are not going to simply agree to inflation-linked increases in our contract costs, unless that increase is also passed to workers.”
Cllr Jo Robb of South Oxfordshire District Council, and the Green Party’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Henley and Thame, said “For some time, our Councils have paid at least the real living wage to staff, as have most of our contractors. I’m proud that as a result of this Green motion, we are now working towards accreditation as a Living Wage employer with the Living Wage Foundation, and will require that all future contractors pay the Real Living Wage.”
“In the meantime, we urge our current suppliers and contractors who don’t already do so, to commit to the Real Living Wage as a key way of addressing in-work poverty and attracting staff to come and work in our very expensive districts.”
Councillors on both councils voted the proposal through unanimously.
The Real Living Wage is currently £10.90 an hour and will be updated by the Foundation on 24 October of this year when the rate is expected to significantly increase due to the current cost of living.
The payment of the Real Living Wage, as a minimum, to employees, is one way of ensuring that all the Council’s suppliers and residents know they recognise the importance of the Real Living Wage in helping to reduce in-work poverty and are committed to it.
148 Local Authorities including Oxford City and Reading Borough Councils are already accredited Living Wage employers.
Contact:
Cllr Katherine Foxhall katherine.foxhall@whitehorsedc.gov.uk 07916 285 305
Cllr Jo Robb jo.robb@southandvale.gov.uk 07814 820 181
Notes
- https://www.livingwage.org.uk/
http://democratic.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/mgChooseDocPack.aspx?ID=3193 and http://democratic.southoxon.gov.uk/mgChooseDocPack.aspx?ID=3256
