TWENTY London churches are now accredited as Living Wage Employers, the diocese has reported.
This week is designated as Living Wage Week, which the diocese has marked with a film featuring contributions from the accredited parishes.
“We think it’s really important that the people in our care, our staff, don’t worry about making ends meet,” the Vicar of St Paul’s, Hammersmith, the Revd Pete Wynter, says. The Vicar of St Mary, Islington, the Revd James Hughesdon, speaks of “putting our money where our theological mouth is”.
The Revd Josh Harris, Priest-in-Charge of St Katharine Cree, in the City of London, says: “For our congregation, which includes many who work in the cleaning and hospitality industries, dignified work and being paid a real Living Wage is essential.
“And so, for us to share the Good News of Jesus with them with integrity means committing to paying our own team at least a real Living Wage and visibly supporting the campaign.”
The film also features Laura Dow, an early-years worker at St Mary’s, who says that earning the Living Wage has helped her as a single mother.
Wilson Ayala, who chairs the cleaners’ branch of the union the Independent Workers of Great Britain, says that paying the Living Wage “can make the difference between living and surviving”.
The Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, co-chairs the campaign “Making London a Living Wage City”, launched in 2021 by Citizens UK and Trust for London. It reports that 575,000 jobs in London still pay less than the real Living Wage. In the film, Bishop Mullally expresses hope that more churches will become accredited “so they may ensure that the people of London are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve as people made in the image of God”.
The National Minimum Wage — the minimum per hour that employers must pay — was introduced in 1999 and applies throughout the UK. It is set by the Government on the advice of the Low Pay Commission. The National Living Wage, introduced in 2016, applies to all workers aged 21 and above. It is set at £12.21 per hour (equating to about £25,000 a year for a 40-hour week).
The Living Wage (sometimes described as the “real” living wage) is calculated annually by the Resolution Foundation think tank and overseen by the Living Wage Foundation, part of Citizens UK. It is based on the income necessary for employees to afford an acceptable standard of living.
The latest figures are £13.45 an hour (a 6.7-per-cent increase on last year) and £14.80 in London (a 6.9-per-cent increase). An additional 2500 new accreditations over the past year have taken the number of Living Wage Employers to more than 16,000. One in seven employees is now covered.
