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 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 24 August 2023, there were 711.
Click on the button to find out which Greater Manchester Employers are paying the Real Living Wage
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.
Latest news
Updates on the Greater Manchester campaign are published in Greater Manchester Poverty Action’s fortnightly newsletter – which if you don’t already receive you can subscribe to here. If you would like to receive information on the campaign directly please sign up by emailing the campaign coordinator.
Celebrate, Learn & Share – Good Employment in the VCSE Sector
In recent years GMPA has worked alongside colleagues in the GM Growth Company to promote and develop the GM Good Employment Charter which has as one of its key elements the need for Charter members to pay the Living Wage. This year saw the first GM Good Employment Week, which ran from 19 to 23 June.
During that week, we hosted an event jointly with Greater Manchester Centre for Voluntary Organisations (GMCVO). The event was a session for the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector. It was a great opportunity to celebrate and promote good employment in the VCSE sector.
The event saw over 40 attendees and heard the first-hand experiences of Big Life Company, GM Moving and Mustard Tree in accrediting to the Living Wage Foundation and their involvement in the Good Employment Charter. Ian MacArthur from the Good Employment Charter team outlined the benefits of the Charter and how VCSE organisations could get involved. It also provided a networking opportunity for VCSE organisations to learn from each other and to access resources and support.
In other news, at the time of writing, there are 693 accredited Real Living Wage Employers in Greater Manchester, up 45 since the last update in May 2023.
This means we have now exceeded the target set in the GM Living Wage Action Plan of 650 accredited employers by November 2023. A new target will be set and work will continue to grow the number of Living Wage Employers in the GM City Region.
Best wishes and stay safe.
GM Living Wage Campaign Coordinator
John Hacking
Twitter : @GMlivingwage Facebook: www.facebook.com/gmlivingwage
The Greater Manchester Living Wage campaign is run by Greater Manchester Poverty Action.
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