Johnson and Miliband both give backing to Living Wage
MAYOR of London Boris Johnson and Labour leader Ed Miliband will today signal their support for the Living Wage – the rate of pay that helps meet the basic cost of living.
Johnson will announce the new rate of London’s Living Wage, which all City Hall workers receive at least. It has been £8.30/hr, versus a legal minimum wage of £6.19/hr.
Meanwhile, Miliband will make the policy a key part of his bid to win the next election, pledging to find ways of increasing the wages of the 5m people who currently earn less than this amount.
However a report released today by the Adam Smith Institute says that while efforts to raise incomes should be applauded, the Living Wage “could price low skilled workers out of the employment market altogether”.
Instead the think tank proposes a substantial increase to personal allowances, enabling low-paid workers to increase their net income by escaping tax altogether.