Election Pledge: London Living Wage Jobs
As the Organiser who initiated the voluntary (Real) Living Wage Campaign in 2001, if elected I will;
- Seek to make Poplar and Limehouse a Living Wage Zone – where all employers with more than ten employees are accredited ‘Living Wage Employers’ and pay all their staff and contract staff the London Living Wage.
- Initially I will join hands with the many Living Wage accredited employers based at Canary Wharf to encourage them not just to invite their neighbours to follow their example but also to offer work experience, apprenticeships and dedicated training to young people living in Tower Hamlets through the Living Wage Plus scheme.
- I will work with the Adab Training Programme and East London Business Alliance to support groups of ‘difficult to reach’ young people to be job ready through CV and Interview Training and mentoring.
The Green Party, through the Green New Deal, will;
- Review the present voluntary (Real) Living Wage including the formula for calculating the annual LW figure based on the cost of living – and propose a new formula where the Real Living Wage replaces the present Minimum Wage and this make it a compulsory figure for all in work across the UK./
- Support a four day working week and a better work/life balance.
- Phase in the introduction of a Universal Basic Income(UBI) sufficient to cover an adult’s basic needs . It will be a unconditional payment, paid to all UK residents regardless of their employment status.
- Replace most income related benefits like Universal Credit and a large range of means-tested benefits with the one unconditional payment which will simplify and streamline the system.
- Ensure that no one will be worse off. The adult rate of UBI of £89 per week will result in a 6% increase in disposable income over five years for someone paid in full. The adult rates will be increased at regular intervals during the first full parliamentary term.
- Include additional payments above the basic rate for some groups of people. Pensioners will receive a weekly payment of £178.00
- Draw directly on income raised from the Carbon Tax to help fund the UBI, thereby ensuring that the proceeds of the tax on carbon emissions help meet the cost of enabling people to make the transition to a carbon free future.
