Leeds City Council is planning to pay more than 7,000 staff a ‘real living wage’ – 80 pence an hour higher than the rate announced by chancellor George Osborne in the recent budget.
The council’s executive board are next week expected to approve a plan to pay a minimum of £8.01 from April 2016.
The proposal follows an agreement earlier this year that the council would adopt the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Low Pay Charter which committed it to paying the hourly rate set by the Living Wage Foundation.
The council said its proposals would benefit about 3,600 council employees including casual staff and apprentices.
A further 4,200 school staff will also receive the pay rise. Around 80 per cent of those affected are women.
The amount proposed by the council is higher than the £7.20 national minimum wage announced in the July summer budget.
Council leader Judith Blake said that by paying the new rate, which was more than 80 pence more than the Government’s national minimum wage, ‘we are demonstrating our commitment and support to our own lower paid workers.
‘These are people who work tirelessly for the citizens of Leeds and are the backbone of the council, without whom we could not provide the standard of services our residents expect.’
She added: ‘This increase will also have a knock-on effect on the wider Leeds economy as lower paid staff will be increasingly able to start benefiting from and contributing to the economic recovery in Leeds, as well as sending a clear signal to local businesses that there is a drive to build the economy and to become a more compassionate city.’
