UNISON welcomes ‘living wage’ announcement by council

UNISON Scotland has warmly welcomed an announcement by West Dunbartonshire Council to introduce a Living Wage for its staff.

West Dunbartonshire Council is only the second local authority in Scotland to introduce the Living Wage, following Glasgow City Council who introduced it in 2009. The move means that none if its employees will be paid less than £7.15 per hour and will result in a pay-rise for around 400 low-paid workers.

The Scottish Living Wage Campaign (SLWC) is supported by a range of community, trade union and campaigning organisations including UNISON, the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC), the Poverty Alliance, the Scottish Churches Social Inclusion Network and the Scottish Interfaith Council. Since the establishment of the SLWC, UNISON Scotland has been represented in the campaign as well as campaigning politically for the adoption of the campaign objectives with political parties and the Scottish Government.

Denise McLafferty, from UNISON’s West Dunbartonshire branch, said: “We are pleased to see that West Dunbartonshire Council has decided to introduce a Living Wage for its employees. Low pay is a very real problem for hundreds of thousands of workers across the country and it’s only right that workers get paid a fair day’s pay for a fair day's work.

“The existence of so many low paid jobs traps individuals and families in poverty, denying them opportunities and choices that should be for everyone in a country as wealthy as Scotland. We hope this move will help persuade other employers in the public, private and voluntary sectors to raise the salaries of low-paid staff.”