Sadiq Khan: I will raise living wage in London to £10 an hour if I become Mayor
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Version 0 of 1. The living wage in London would be raised to £10 an hour next year if Sadiq Khan becomes the city’s Mayor in next May’s election. Mr Khan, who is seeking the nomination as Labour’s candidate, has pledged to turn London into a “living wage city” that would be a trail-blazer for other cities in this country and around the world. As Mayor, he would ensure a pay rise for workers employed by the Greater London Authority (GLA), public bodies such as Transport for London and private firms winning contracts for these organisations. The living wage, paid voluntarily by 1,625 employers in Britain, is currently worth £9.15 an hour in London and £7.85 in the rest of the country. Mr Khan told The Independent a rise is needed to compensate for the tax credit cuts announced in last month’s Budget. He described as a “con” George Osborne’s decision to bring in a national living wage of £7.20 an hour from next April, rising to £9 an hour by 2020. For workers aged 25 and over, it will replace the national minimum wage, currently £6.50 an hour. The living wage is currently worth £9.15 an hour in London (Getty) Mr Khan, MP for Tooting and a former Transport Minister, would set up an “economic fairness team” at City Hall to urge more businesses to pay the living wage. He would prioritise badly-paid groups such as hotel workers and cleaners. He would also ask the Government to devolve to the London Mayor the power to set a minimum wage covering all employees in the capital. His goal would be to raise it gradually to the level of the living wage, helping 640,000 workers in London who currently earn less than it. Mr Khan said: “Unfairness and inequality in our city hurts everyone, from the lowest earners to the highest. Conversely, taking action to ensure everyone gets paid fairly and treated well at work, and has access to opportunities to train and develop, will lead us to a stronger economy – higher-skilled, better-paid and harder-working. It will make London a far better city in which to live and bring up a family. “I will work with business, unions, and working Londoners to make our city a beacon for the rest of the world – proving that high employment standards, fair pay and model corporate citizenship are good for business, and the economy as a whole.” Mr Khan would ensure that companies bidding for GLA contracts were required to create apprenticeships and avoid practices such as blacklisting workers. He insists his plans would not harm firms, saying he would be a “pro-business Mayor.” |