Newcastle is set to be a ‘Real Living Wage City’. An ambitious plan has been unveiled this week that could result in thousands of workers getting a pay rise. More than 100 firms and institutions attended an event at St James’s Park to find out about the benefits of paying the real Living Wage. This is an independently calculated rate of pay based on what employees and their families need to have a ”decent standard of living” which is higher than the national minimum wage.
Experts believe that this is an important and effective way of tackling child poverty which in parts of Newcastle is almost 50%. In addition, 70% of youngsters in poverty come from working households showing that low pay is not enough to pay for life’s essentials. In 2023 Newcastle Council, a Real Living Wage employer, revealed its intention to make Newcastle a real Living Wage City with accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation.
Living Wage
With partners, Newcastle City Council set up a task group to push forward the real Living Wage agenda and will now set its three-year plan on how to achieve this. Employers, who don’t yet pay the real Living Wage, have been invited to find out how they can get involved.
According to the Living Wage Foundation, a national charity, more than 14,000 employers across Britain voluntarily pay the real Living Wage – of those 174 are in Newcastle. Together they employ 50,000 staff and pay the real Living Wage to 5,000 of their lowest paid aged over 18. The rate is £12 per hour.
The local authority’s Cabinet member for Resources, Councillor Paul Frew, said:
”I know that economic conditions are tough for employers, and becoming a real Living Wage employer is a big step. But it is one of he most important tools we have in our drive to tackle the poverty that blights our city.
”We call on all employers across Newcastle to recognise and address the issues of low pay within their workforce and across their supply chains, and to register as real Living Wage employers if they can.
”Paying the Living Wage is good value for employer who want a motivated, secure and stable workforce, so it makes good economic sense for them too”.
From Newcastle Citizens Advice
Speaking at the Real Living Wage event, Hannah Cooper of Newcastle Citizens Advice, said:
”At Citizens Advice Newcastle we are seeing growing numbers of people who are in work and struggling to afford the essentials. Every day our advisors see people forced to make difficult choices – about what bills will go unpaid, who ask for money and what essentials to go without.
”Low pay is one of the biggest drivers of poverty for those we advise. Our research shows that, of all the households we see in a negative budget, one in 3 include someone who is in work, and more than half of these households include someone who is working full time.
”Local employers paying people fairly for the work they do, based on the real cost of living, is essential to turn the tide of in-work poverty”.
Accredited Real Living Wage employers
Accredited Real Living Wage employers in the city include Newcastle University, Newcastle United FC, Newcastle Hospitals, Bellway Homes, Citizens Advice and many small businesses including pubs, restaurants, and other businesses.
According to the council, paying it makes good business sense. Over 80% of accredited Real Living Wage employers claimed it had ”enhanced their reputation” and over half said it had improved the quality of those applying to work for them.
Research findings reveal that the extra money people will have in their pockets is spent locally with businesses and shops, creating jobs and economic resilience. It’s estimated 23,000 employees earn below the real Living Wage in Newcastle.
More information about the real Living Wage can be found here.
This article is adapted from a Press Release from NCC
