£7.20. A London Living Wage:
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Wage slaves
I hate the disparity between the wages of the rich and the poor in London.
We are the second most expensive city in the world to live in, largely because Londoners are so amazingly productive and very good at making money. So I think we should be prepared to treat the hard working people who do the tough, unglamorous jobs, fairly. These are the people who literally keep London functioning.
As Mayor, I would ensure all public employers pay their workers a living wage of £7.20 an hour and roll this out to cover companies who want to get contracts with public bodies as well. And then I'd shame any private employer who refused to follow suit.
There's a real movement for the Living Wage, especially in London. I've joined demos by students at the LSE and by churches and trade unions at the Tate Gallery, fighting for a Living Wage for cleaners and caterers. At the LSE and in other places, like Citigroup and KPMG, we've already won. But there are plenty more employers to get through, so I'm really pleased to have been made Patron of the new Fair Pay Network, where all these different organisations can join forces for a concerted attack on poverty pay.
This is no pipe dream, but we need the Mayor's office pulling its weight to kick exploitation out of London. If you think I've got it about right, help me out by telling us your horror stories of low pay and long hours, or your ideas on what to do about it. Or maybe you disagree – we want to hear about that too!
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