LET’S MAKE DERBY BRITAIN’S FIRST LIVING WAGE CITY

IT is unthinkable now that, less than 20 years ago, some employers in this city and beyond were getting away with paying workers below a pound an hour.

Yet awful though that sounds, it is in fact a grim reality of a Britain that had been left to rot during two decades of Tory rule under Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

I can even remember the opposition that the Labour government faced following its election in 1997, when it set about introducing a minimum wage that was long overdue.

Opponents warned of economic collapse, of businesses ceasing to exist, of ruin and resultant joblessness.

This was, of course, utter nonsense as it quickly became clear that the additional disposable income created by having a minimum wage bolstered local economies, rather than destroying them. This is not to mention the fact that having a minimum wage was the morally right thing to do.

It is with that episode in mind that I am absolutely confident that Derby’s major employers should now be ready and able to do something even more progressive by adopting the Living Wage.

For anyone who doesn’t know, the Living Wage raises the bar above the minimum wage to a level which reflects the true costs of existing in Britain today.

Derby is in a better position than many other cities in regard to the Living Wage – the city council has already committed to its adoption and, in doing so, has helped to dispel many of the myths which opponents to it are keen to put about.

Such as the alleged escalating costs as the knock-on effect of rising salaries is felt higher up the pay ladder. In fact, this suggestion is nonsense. It is very easy for employers to dampen the impact so that the benefits are felt at the bottom end of the pay scales without impacting on those already earning a decent salary.

No organisation in our city has been placed under more intense pressure than the council in the last five years – with budgets drastically cut and increased expectations – and if it can find a way to make the Living Wage work then so can other employers.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Derby could truly become Britain’s first Living Wage City? What a statement it would make if people knew that earning the Living Wage was the very least that Derby’s workforce could expect.

We are all unified in a hope of improving Derby’s local economy and making it a better place to work in order to attract the best possible talent. Local workers tend to reinvest a large proportion of their earnings within their own economy, creating an upward spiral of growth. The more organisations that support this, then the greater the impact will be.

That is why I have just written to every employer with more than 100 staff in Derby’s ‘travel to work’ area, in the hope of persuading them to make the Living Wage commitment. This is about companies saying: “We value our workforce and we’re prepared to put our money where our mouth is”.

I am not naïve enough to recognise that Derby becoming a Living Wage City is not going to happen tomorrow, next week or next month. But because something is aspirational does not make it unachievable. It is certainly very possible; all that is needed is the will to make it happen.