Shocking that London councils won’t sign Living Wage’ deal

Published: 3:33 PM March 9, 2009 Updated: 8:13 AM October 14, 2020

Dear Ed, IT IS certainly shocking that most London local councils have refused to sign up to the London Living Wage.’ The hourly earnings of trade union members in 2007 averaged 15.6 per cent more than the average paid to non-members, according to latest Government statistics

Dear Ed,

IT IS certainly shocking that most London local councils have refused to sign up to the London Living Wage’ created by our former Mayor, Ken Livingstone (Most London councils opt out of living wage’ deal, Advertiser Website, March 7).

There is one thing that every worker who wants higher pay can do—join a trade union. The hourly earnings of union members in 2007 averaged 15.6 per cent more than the average paid to non-members, according to the latest official Government statistics.

Anyone who doesn’t yet get the London living wage’ will be in a stronger position to bargain for fair wages from the employer by joining a union and getting other workers to join. Anyone working for a local authority in London, or working for any of their contractors, can join Unison simply by telephoning us.

Rather than wait for local authorities to deliver a living wage, workers need to get on with it ourselves.