Promoting the Living Wage

On Monday evening Dundee City Council agreed to become an accredited Living Wage Employer.  I welcomed the report on Monday evening,  I think that many people thought that the council had signed up to this quite a while ago.  However, it is good that the council will be a fully accredited Living Wage employer.

I have been calling on Dundee City Council to pay the Living Wage since 2010 and I am pleased that we are making progress.

It is good that the council is leading the way on this.  We should value our staff and pay them the real Living Wage. 

The council should also use its financial power to make contractors and sub-contractors pay the Living Wage.  The public sector should not be shy about using its procurement power to ensure that people are treated fairly.  We should be saying clearly that Dundee should be a Living Wage economy.  Whilst I accept that is appears to be a challenge for some firms in Dundee, we should also be saying that people should be valued in their workplace. 

I want to know what the council will do to lead a campaign to make Dundee a Living Wage City.  The Dundee Fairness Commission recommended that Dundee become a Living Wage City.  We need to use the Fairness Commission report as a blueprint for action, it should not be kept secret.  I asked what are Dundee City Council and the Dundee Partnership doing to make this happen?

I am glad to see some progress being made here tonight but it is crucial that the Fairness Commission report doesn’t go the way of so many other worthy reports and collect dust of a shelve.  Tonight is a good start but we need to see sustained efforts to ensure that all of the recommendations of the Fairness Commission are implemented in full.

Getting Scottish Living Wage Accreditation is an important first step but the council must lead a campaign to make Dundee a Living Wage city.

I was pleased to get some reassurances that Dundee City Council and the Dundee Partnership will be leading the way and delivering a Living Wage City.