Campaign to encourage employers to pay a 'living wage'

A new campaign to promote Greater Manchester as a Living Wage Zone is to be launched at the Greater Manchester Churches Together General Assembly on Monday 28 October.

The campaign aims to make Greater Manchester a Living Wage Zone by challenging low pay and putting Living Wage policy and a culture of social equality at the heart of how Greater Manchester works. 

Church Action on Poverty Director Niall Cooper, who will speak at the event, said: “More than 140,000 people across Greater Manchester are in work but still struggling to make ends meet because they are not being paid a Living Wage. Our aspiration is that everyone who works in Greater Manchester should be paid a Living Wage.”

The campaign will work with employers and employees, decision-makers and media to spread the message that fairness and prosperity require Living Wage pay. Part of that message to employers is that paying a Living Wage, rather than minimum wage, can often be of economic benefit as it has been shown to result in raised job satisfaction, employee loyalty and workforce stability, and in reduced sick-leave. 

Church leaders will be signing a joint letter to each of the Leaders of each of the ten local authorities in Greater Manchester encouraging them to support the campaign – and to sign up as Living Wage employers in their own right.