Over 1,000 of the lowest-paid workers in Dundee City Council’s workforce could be in line for a boost as it is proposed to fully embed the Scottish Local Government Living Wage into its pay and grading structure.
Councillors will hear that council officers and the trade unions have been working to redesign the local authority’s pay model.
The policy and resources committee on Monday March 8 will be asked to agree to implement the revised structure from April 1.
Depute policy & resources convener Councillor Willie Sawers said: “This is a hugely significant proposal that will benefit those at the bottom of our current pay structures and represents a huge amount of work by council officers and the trade unions.
“Fully embedding the wage in our pay structure is a real investment for the future and will help us to further reduce the gender pay gap.”
Committee convener Councillor John Alexander added: “We have been proud to be a living wage employer for some time now and are leading the campaign with local companies and organisations to make Dundee the UK’s first living wage city.
“I would also like to thank the trade unions for the partnership efforts they have made to bring forward this proposal.”
Dundee City Council
Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.
