Celebrating Edinburgh’s Living Wage Achievements
This week is Living Wage Week. It’s a time to raise awareness of fair work and the Living Wage, celebrate the achievements of fair work employers, and reflect on what comes next to grow the movement.
The Edinburgh Fair Work Action Group has been working since 2020 to support the growth of fair work and the Living Wage in Scotland’s capital city. When the group first started there were 420 accredited employers based in Edinburgh, employing around 33,000 people in the city. This has now grown to 790 accredited employers. This means that an additional 188,000 workers are guaranteed a fair wage that is enough to live on.
Committing to paying the Real Living Wage is not always easy. This is particularly the case given that employers are increasingly facing challenging business conditions with rising operating costs.
That’s why this Living Wage Week, the Edinburgh Fair Work Action Group wants to thank every employer in Edinburgh who has remained committed to putting the wellbeing of their workers first by paying the Real Living Wage.
To do this, we will be posting a series of blog posts to highlight the inspiring work of local employers. We are also running a ‘Celebrating Fair Work in Edinburgh’ event on Wednesday 12th 4-6pm at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.
Our co-chair Kat Brogan, Managing Director of Mercat Tours, commented:“Employers in Edinburgh are continuing to put the wellbeing of their workers first by committing to paying the Real Living Wage. This is despite challenging economic conditions with rising business costs.
Paying the Real Living Wage is more important than ever. The cost of living continues to rise, and we are seeing persistent levels of poverty in the city, particularly in-work poverty.
We know that well paid, fair and secure work is one of the best and most sustainable routes out of poverty. By committing to paying the Real Living Wage, employers are doing their bit to support city-wide efforts to reduce levels of poverty.”