Campaign for a Living Wage


I am calling for Dundee City Council to pay a Living Wage to all its employees. I have received information that the City Council and its arms length companies pay over 500 employees less than £7 an hour. The Living Wage campaign has been supported by a number of public bodies including the Greater London Assembly and Glasgow City Council as well as being supported by churches, trade unions and anti-poverty campaigners. Labour leader Iain Gray has pledged to deliver a Living Wage for Scotland if Labour forms the Scottish Government. You can show your support for this campaign by signing our petition on this important issue here.


I support the campaign for a Living Wage and will be requesting that the City Council consider introducing this policy. Over 500 individual employees of the council and its arms length companies receive less than £7 an hour, this is the rate that the Living Wage would be set above. These are difficult financial times but it is important that work pays and that it is a route out of poverty. Paying a higher rate would also allow more money to be spent in the local economy. I would like to see a Living Wage rolled out across the public sector but I would also campaign for it in all sectors of the Scottish economy.


Below you will see information from Dundee City Council's Head of Personnel

'Apologies for the delay in answering your pay information request, which the Chief Executive passed to me.
Information received from Payroll indicates that we have 324 employees working on a range of part time and full time weekly contracted hours, who are paid a basic rate of less than £7.00 an hour. There are a further 218 paid less than £7.00 an hour, who do not have weekly contracted hours, but work as required on a sessional/relief/supply type basis. These figures include Dundee Leisure and the Ice Arena. '