At the start of Living Wage week the Mayor of London has been criticised for his “lacklustre” efforts to get businesses to pledge to pay the London Living Wage in the capital. Labour London Assembly Member John Biggs AM made the criticism after it was revealed Boris Johnson wrote to 51 London businesses between March and June this year encouraging them to pay the London Living Wage, but little more than a third responded and only three of those who replied have subsequently signed up to the scheme. With 22,000 jobs in Newham paying less than is needed to live on in the capital, John Biggs AM warned Boris Johnson risked leaving behind a city “more polarised and poorer than the one he inherited.”
According to the Mayor’s Office, of the 51 businesses that the Mayor wrote to in March and June, just 19 have replied with 10 indicating they will ‘investigate’ becoming accredited. Only three have actually gone on to sign up to pay the London Living Wage.
Mr Biggs said the Mayor’s failure highlighted the “widening gap between what the Mayor says is happening to Londoners’ pay packets and the reality of ever increasing poverty pay in the capital.”
The criticism of the Mayor’s “lacklustre” efforts to persuade employers to pay the London Living Wage comes after it was revealed that 22,000 jobs in Newham currently earn below the London Living Wage. This means that 30%% of the local workforce earn less than is needed to live on in the capital.
A new London Living Wage rate of £9.40 was announced this week.
Labour London Assembly Member, John Biggs AM said:
“Low paid people in Newham need far more than the Mayor’s lacklustre letter-writing campaign to break the cycle of poverty pay. With as many as 22,000 local jobs paying less than the London Living Wage, it’s clear that there is a widening gap between what the Mayor says is happening to Londoners’ pay packets and the reality of ever increasing poverty pay in the capital.
“The Mayor talks up his achievements on the London Living Wage, but the reality is that every year since 2010 more people have been dragged into low paid work partly as a result of his failure to get businesses signed up to pay proper wages.
“There is no escaping the fact that the amount of people paid less than the living wage has massively increased during Boris Johnson’s time as Mayor. The city Boris leaves behind in May will be more polarised and poorer than the one he inherited – that is a record nobody should be proud of.”
Notes to editors
- John Biggs AM is the Labour London Assembly Member for City & East London
- The Mayor’s answer to a question from Labour Londonwide Assembly Member Fiona Twycross AM on his efforts to convince businesses to pay the London Living Wage is available here:
Question No: 2015/3045
Fiona Twycross
Please provide an update to your response to question 2015/2467. Of the 50 businesses you wrote to in March 2015 about the London Living Wage how many have now (a) responded and (b) indicated they will become accredited Living Wage Employers?
Written response from the Mayor
I wrote to 28 businesses at the end of March and 23 businesses at the beginning of June. 19 businesses have responded, and within these 19 replies, 10 have indicated they will investigate becoming accredited and 3 have now signed up to London Living Wage accreditation.
- Statistics for the number of people in Newham earning below the London Living Wage are available here (first table available for download, Appendix 4):
- A new London Living Wage rate of £9.40 was announced on 2nd November 2015.
For more information please contact London Assembly Labour Group press officer, Alison Orlandi, on 020 7983 4952 or 07795 616832. Number not for publication.