One in four Yorkshire jobs covers increased living costs
ONE IN four jobs in Yorkshire and the Humber still pays below the real Living Wage, it has been revealed today.
More than 4,700 UK employers have signed up to the campaign – but only 214 are headquartered in Yorkshire and the Humber, the Living Wage Foundation said.
It added there was good news for employees of those firms though as the real Living Wage was rising from £8.75 per hour to £9 per hour from today. The independently calculated rate reflects the increased cost of living and is £1.17 per hour more than the minimum wage for over 25s.
Dan Jarvis, Mayor of the Sheffield City Region, said: “The fact that the National Minimum Wage hasn’t kept up with the rise in the cost of living means that around 145,000 people here in the Sheffield City Region do not earn enough to cover the basics of housing, transport, childcare and living expenses. That is why I have committed to championing the real Living Wage for the Sheffield City Region and those companies that contract with us.”
Meanwhile, independent MP Frank Field has warned government plans to transfer millions of people on to Universal Credit could be defeated in Parliament if changes designed to protect the most vulnerable benefit claimants are not made.
The chairman of the cross-party Work and Pensions Committee said MPs may have “no option but to vote them down”, after Ministers refused to allow scrutiny of draft regulations before the bill is presented to Parliament.
A DWP spokesman said insisted the regulations would provide transitional protection for all those moving to Universal Credit.