Key information
Date: Wednesday 04th December 2013
Time: 10:00am
Motion detail
This Assembly welcomes the recent report by the Centre for London, ‘London Rising: the case for a London Minimum Wage’. The Centre for London report uses the Low Pay Commission’s methodology for setting the National Minimum Wage to highlight that a London Minimum Wage could immediately be set 7% higher than the current minimum wage – and in future rise to 20% above the minimum wage – without threatening jobs or economic competitiveness.
As an intermediary step towards establishing a statutory London Living Wage in the capital, we call on the government to implement, and the Mayor to support, the key recommendation that “the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 be amended to require the Low Pay Commission to make recommendations for a London minimum wage”.
Action on wages is now an imperative in London. Average wages fell by 4.9% in 2012, the number of positions paying less than the London Living Wage has increased by 180,000 since 2007 and the national minimum wage is increasingly inadequate compared to the rising costs of energy, rents and transport fares in the capital.
In the past few weeks the Mayor has used his public profile to promote the interests of the top 0.1% of earners. We call on the Mayor to give as much attention to promoting the interests of those on low incomes who are struggling most because of the cost of living crisis. We call on him to support proposals for a London Minimum Wage, ensure the GLA is sufficiently resourced to deliver a meaningful programme of business engagement to promote the London Living Wage and to personally increase his own engagement with business leaders on pay and the London Living Wage.
Response to motion
14-03-26- response from Mayor to Chair re motions agreed at 4 Dec 2013 Plenary_0.pdf