Cambridge City Council has marked the start of Living Wage Week by pledging to explore the feasibility of a new minimum wage for council staff.

The pledge will be formally announced at the start of the Living Wage Week event held tonight at Allia Future Business Centre, following the announcement that the new Real Living Wage rate for the UK is £8.75. 

Cllr Lewis Herbert, Leader of the Council, said, “we support the principle at the heart of the Real Living Wage campaign that a fair day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. 

Therefore, in the yearly review of the council’s budget, we are exploring if we can afford to go further than paying the Real Living Wage as a minimum rate. By doing so, we hope to set an example for larger employers that can afford to do to pay £10 per hour as a minimum.

We will continue to promote the Real Living Wage of £8.75 as a minimum rate of pay to local employers, as this is independently calculated to reflect real living costs. 

The Real Living Wage is set by the Living Wage Commission, consisting of employers, trade unions, civil society and independent experts. The rates changes each November in order to reflect the changes to living costs, and employers that are accredited with the Living Wage Foundation have six months in which to implement the change. 

Living Wage Week (5 to 11 November) is a national campaign to celebrate Living Wage accredited employers and encourage more to sign up. As of today the Real Living Wage has increased in Cambridge from £8.45 to £8.75. This is compared to the ‘living wage’ set by the government of £7.50 for over 25s.