A campaign to get more people in Dundee paid the real Living Wage has won a prestigious award.
The Dundee Living Wage Action Group have been crowned winner of the ‘Places Champion Award 2021’ category by Living Wage Foundation.
Making Dundee a Living Wage City has been an ambition of major local employers such as Dundee City Council, Dundee Voluntary Action, Dundee & Angus College, DC Thompsons, Xplore Dundee and Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce.
Since the campaign launched in 2019 the group have quadrupled Living enquiries in Dundee and won pay-rises for over 1,5000 workers.
The group have been encouraging employers in the city to join the movement, with a particular focus on the retail and hospitality sector, and they have supported and celebrated businesses who join the Living Wage club in Dundee.
There are now over 80 Dundee employers who have voluntarily committed to ensure all their staff and subcontracted staff receive a real Living Wage of £9.50 an hour, significantly higher than the government minimum of £8.91.
Fairness and Equalities spokesperson for Dundee City Council, Councillor Lynne Short said: “It’s fantastic to receive this award in recognition of the hard work that has and continues to go on to get more people in Dundee a wage increase.
“In Dundee, we are incredibly proud to be championing the real Living Wage and supporting and encouraging more and more businesses in the city to join this movement.
“I know it has been incredibly hard for businesses over the past year and it’s been great to see so many businesses continue to pledge a fair wage to their employees during this difficult time.”
Alison Henderson, CEO of Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce said:
“I’m absolutely delighted to see our group winning this fantastic national award. We’ve all worked really well together to champion good employer practices in the city and region, and as we come out of the pandemic, investing in our people is going to be more important than ever.
Businesses have done an incredible job during the last few years to commit to being Living Wage employers, and to talking to suppliers about following their lead.
Business leaders have told us how important being recognised as a Living Wage employer is to their retention & recruitment. Being a Living Wage City, which is known for investing in people, is a really exciting ambition that we are thrilled to continue driving forward.”
Christine McCaig, Living Wage Projects Coordinator at Living Wage Scotland said: “Dundee were the first place in the UK to launch a plan to become a Living Wage City, and the continued dedication of the Living Wage City Action Group has encouraged more employers to become Living Wage accredited, ensuring workers and their families can cover their everyday needs. Congratulations to the Dundee Living Wage City Action Group on being named as Places Champion for 2021, and I look forward to seeing the continued effort towards making Dundee a Living Wage City in the months and years ahead”.
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%.
