Supporting Cardiff as a Living Wage City

By Dave Gilbert

​​The Living Wage movement was 20 years old last year and in 2019 Cardiff was recognised as a Living Wage City as part of the ‘Making Living Wage Places’ scheme. To achieve this accreditation, a group of prominent Cardiff employers joined forces to form the Cardiff Living Wage Action Group and launched a three year action plan to make Cardiff a Living Wage City.

​Red River Archaeology became an accredited Living Wage Employer in 2020 and we are proud to be supporting the Living Wage movement in Cardiff from our local office and across the UK.  We are committed to ensure every member of staff in our organisation earns not just the minimum wage but the real Living Wage, that is independently set as an hourly rate and updated annually, based on the real cost of living in the UK. 

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What this means in real terms​

​There are now over 160 accredited Living Wage employers in Cardiff, employing 64,000 workers. Almost 8,000 people have been uplifted to the real Living Wage as a direct result of accreditation. 

​Unlike the Government minimum wage (‘National Living Wage’ for over 23s - £8.91 rising to £9.50 in April) the real Living Wage is the only wage rate independently calculated based on rising living costs – including fuel, energy, rent and food. The real Living Wage is paid to all workers over the age of 18.

​A full-time worker earning the real Living Wage would earn £1,930 a year more than a worker earning the current government minimum (NLW). For a worker today that’s the equivalent of seven months of food bills and more than five months' rent based on average household spending in the UK. Even on next April’s higher NLW rate of £9.50, a full-time worker on the real Living Wage would earn £780 more.

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​We strongly believe that every member of staff deserves a Living Wage, because a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay, and encourage support for the real Living Wage throughout Cardiff and the UK.

You can find out more about the Living Wage by visiting www.livingwage.org.uk
#MakingCardiffaLivingWageCity  #LivingWageWeek