The Mayor of London could take the lead on pay inequality by pressuring companies benefitting from over £9bn of contracts from Transport for London, City Hall, the London Fire Brigade and the Metropolitan Police in the past three years, Darren Johnson has suggested. The Mayor should press those companies to sign up to a Fair Pay mark when tendering contracts. The mark would require them to reduce the pay gap between ordinary workers and top staff.
Pay inequality has grown faster in London than in any other region of the UK.
"The Mayor’s own organisations had almost 100 people earning more than £150k last year – that’s ten times the pay of a worker on the London Living Wage. But this isn’t just about public sector fat cats because he competes for top staff with the private sector where the pay gap is even worse.
"I’m arguing that the Mayor can do something about the growing pay gulf between ordinary people and those at the top, both in the public and private sector.
"Research has shown that more equal societies are generally happier and healthier with less violent crime. We can’t afford not to reduce the pay gap in this divided city."
