E&E | Long road to raise wages

27 June 2013

A living wage is needed for all

IT is very welcome news that Exeter City Council has pledged to pay a 'living wage' to its staff (City vows to tackle low wages, Echo, June 20). This is a key Green Party policy and was included in our recent Devon County Council election manifesto.

However, a recent report revealed that average earnings in Exeter have failed to keep pace with the rest of the South West. Key to ensuring decent pay for all is to ensure that the private sector implements a living wage.

On this critical issue Labour in Exeter seem to be resorting to wishful thinking; simply hoping businesses in the city will follow the lead taken by Exeter City Council is not good enough.

This is why the Green Party has advocated the introduction of the Living Wage Employer's Mark, offering accreditation to employers that pay the living wage, or those committed to an agreed timetable of implementation. Such an accreditation scheme is already in existence, offered by the Living Wage Foundation.

This way, locally based businesses will have something to shout about as they introduce decent pay, and Exeter will really be able to move towards declaring itself a Living Wage City.

Andrew Bell 
Exeter Green Party Policy Officer

11 July 2013
LETTERS

I THANK Andrew Bell for his qualified welcome of the news that Exeter City Council has pledge to a 'living wage' to its staff (A living wage is needed by all, Letters, June 27).

I echo his view that it is wishful thinking that to hope that businesses in the city will follow the lead taken by Exeter City Council.

That is why myself and my Labour colleagues have had long and in-depth discussions at local party level.

That is why I welcomed the excellent report on low average earnings in Exeter that came before Scrutiny Committee – Economy on May 30. He may be interested to know that the committee recommended that the scrutiny economy and executives "consider mechanisms that would provide the means to ensure that the City strives to achieve higher wage levels" .

One of those mechanisms was to be considered was the establishment of a task and finish group.

At the subsequent executive committee meeting, Cllr Rosie Denham, as portfolio holder economy and culture, put forward a proposal to establish a low wage forum, to consider the impact of low wages and high cost of living on Exeter residents and identify strategies to address these issues. This forum would invite representatives from the university, local businesses and community groups to come along to give views and evidence to councillors. I want to ensure that I never hear comments like "people should be pleased to work here and be happy with low pay – just look at the views".

I am sure that this new forum will address many issues, including how to encourage as many businesses as possible to follow Exeter City Council's lead. I would imagine that the forum would enter into meaningful dialogue with the Living Wage Foundation.

I, for one, have no illusions how hard this journey will be but I am looking forward to the challenges ahead. So this is no simple wishful thinking, but the start of robust positive action to encourage city businesses to follow the lead set by the strong Labour administration on Exeter City Council.

Paul Bull

Labour and Co-operative Councillor for Cowick