Hackney Labour’s leaflets claim pioneering living wage status

By Hackney Citizen | Monday 16 December 2013 at 16:23

Hackney Town Hall. Photograph: Hackney Citizen

Hackney Labour is claiming to be at the forefront of implementing the London Living Wage – despite the fact 10 London councils are already accredited as living wage employers.

A Labour Party leaflet posted through residents’ doors states that Labour-run Hackney Council “will soon become the first London council that is fully compliant with paying the London Living Wage across all its contracted workforce, such as for homecare staff”.

But according to the Living Wage Foundation numerous other London councils have already reached this stage.

The Hackney Citizen has campaigned for years for all Hackney Council workers to be paid the London Living Wage, which currently stands at £8.80 per hour.

In 2005 the council signed up to the London Living Wage, meaning that since that year all its directly employed staff have received at least the higher minimum wage that takes into account higher living costs in London.

The Town Hall has in the past claimed ‘best value’ rules prevented it from requiring that this ‘fairer’ wage be rolled out to subcontracted staff, however.

As recently as last December the Hackney Citizen reported there was evidence some catering staff at Hackney schools were being paid less than the national minimum wage.

Earlier this year Hackney’s Mayor Jules Pipe declared that his council was “already on the way to becoming the first local council in which all the staff of its contractors are paid at least the higher London Living Wage,” adding that he expected the process to be wrapped up in early 2014.

But as of now the council is still lacks Living Wage Foundation accreditation as a living wage employer. Documents published by the Greater London Authority last month confirm that the London Borough of Hackney is still in the process of accreditation.

The Living Wage Foundation offers phased accreditation when “an employer has made a firm commitment to the Living Wage, but they are mid contract and not able to break the contract”.

Two years ago, Ealing, Lewisham and Tower Hamlets had already “agreed contracts with suppliers that require the London Living wage be paid”, according to research carried out by Green Party London Assembly Member Darren Johnson.

Islington Council has been accredited even though less than 100 per cent of its contracts are living wage compliant.

The GLA defines the London Living Wage as “the wage rate needed to give a worker in London enough to provide their family with the essentials of life, including a cushion against unforeseen events”.

The Hackney Citizen has asked the Hackney Labour group to clarify the claims made in its leaflet about the council being due to become the first in London to completely comply with paying the London Living Wage.

Local elections are due to take place in 2014.

Update at 5.52pm on 16 December 2013:

Chair of Hackney Labour Group Councillor Rick Muir said: “We are determined to make Hackney a fair pay borough.

“Although a number of London boroughs are accredited by the LWF, as far as we are aware, they have not completed the process of reletting all their non-compliant contracts at a London Living Wage, only that they have a stated commitment to do so over time.

“Hackney is in the process of letting its only remaining non-compliant contract – to be completed in 2014 – which we believe will make us the first borough to have achieved this.”

Update at 10.16am on 20 December 2013:

Hackney Green Party has called on the council to go a step further than paying all its workers the London Living Wage and should implement a 1:10 policy, where the highest paid council employees do not earn more than 10 times the council’s lowest paid workers.

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