Greater Manchester Living Wage Campaign
The prevalence of low paying work in the UK means that many working people lack the money they require to meet their basic needs and to participate fully in society.
This is one of the reasons why in-work poverty is so high in this country, including in Greater Manchester.
The Real Living Wage can play an important role in addressing low pay and boosting household income. The Real Living Wage is an hourly payrate set by campaigners that reflects the real cost of living in a way that the statutory minimum set by government doesn’t.
Greater Manchester Poverty Action (GMPA) runs the Greater Manchester Living Wage Campaign. This involves advocating for widespread adoption of the Real Living Wage by employers across the city region. The Campaign’s mission has always been to make Greater Manchester a Living Wage City Region. In 2021, that became Greater Manchester’s mission.
GMPA is helping to make this a reality. There were just 26 Real Living Wage accredited employers in Greater Manchester when the GM Living Wage Campaign started. By 2 April 2024, there were 762.
Podcasts
In conversation with Cllr Tom Ross, Leader of Trafford Borough Council
March 2023
In this podcast, the GMLWC Co-ordinator John Hacking is in conversation with Councillor Tom Ross, the leader of Trafford Council. Tom discusses the journey that has led to Trafford Council deciding to become a real Living Wage employer and where that decision sits in the overall work that the council and it’s partners are doing to tackle poverty in Trafford and in particular to counter the impact that the cost of living crisis is having on low paid workers in the borough.
In conversation with Dr Calum Carson, Researcher at Manchester Metropolitan University
December 2022
In this podcast, John Hacking the GMLWC Co-ordinator, speaks to Dr Calum Carson, a researcher from Manchester Metropolitan University, about his PhD on “The UK Living Wage Campaign: Experiences of Employers, Workers and Advocates.”
The interview covers how the research was undertaken, what the key findings were and what it tells us about the real Living Wage in the UK.
In conversation with Cllr Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council
November 2021
Councillor Bev Craig, the Leader of Manchester City Council, joined Graham Whitham, CEO of GMPA, and John Hacking, the GMLWC Co-ordinator, in conversation prior to her officially taking up the post. The discussion covered the work Cllr Craig has been doing with Manchester City Council and partners around the issue of the real Living Wage and low pay. The conversation also covered what more can be done about tackling poverty and particularly in-work poverty in Greater Manchester, and what policy ‘asks’ we need to make at GM and national level.
Further information
To get involved in the campaign or to discuss your organisation becoming an accredited employer, please contact us.
To find out more about the Real Living Wage please visit the Living Wage Foundation website. The Foundation promotes this agenda nationally and sets the new hourly living wage payrates each autumn. There is information about becoming an accredited Living Wage Employer here.
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