“The Mayor should be making the case for raising the minimum wage in London to a living wage” says Green Assembly Member Jenny Jones, as the minimum wage is set to rise to £6.70, but remains well short of the living wage.
The government has announced a 20p per hour increase in the national minimum wage to £6.70. This represents a 3% increase, but follows several years where inflation has risen faster than minimum pay.
Baroness Jenny Jones as pictured last year by the BBC.
The Mayor has previously said that if Londoners were paid a living wage rather than the minimum wage this would cut the benefits bill. There would be significant savings to government, especially from a lower housing benefit bill.
Jenny Jones commented, “This decision will leave nearly a million Londoners earning less than the Living Wage and struggling to keep up with the rise in rents and fares since 2008. The Mayor should be making the case for raising the minimum wage in London to a living wage, saving billions on the benefit bill in the process.”