12/7/24

Cardiff's Living Wage City Steering Group has been recognised with a prestigious prize for its outstanding work on the real Living Wage in the city.

This year, the group continued to play a key role in nurturing the growth of the Living Wage network in the UK to over 15,000 Living Wage Employers.

At last night's Living Wage Champion Awards at Techniquest, the Steering Group was presented with a Local Champion award for its support to grow the Living Wage movement in the capital over the past year.

Comprising the Council, Cynnal Cymru, Citizens Cymru Wales, Ffair Jobs Cymru, Cardiff Business School, Cardiff Third Sector Council, FOR Cardiff, Cardiff & Vale Credit Union, Food Cardiff and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, the steering group has supported 40 organisations in the past year to become accredited Living Wage employers.

This means that around 67,000 people now work for one of Cardiff's 225 accredited Living Wage employers and almost 13,000 of those have had a pay rise to the real Living Wage, which has injected an additional £82.7 million into the local economy.

Leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr Huw Thomas, said: "It's wonderful to be recognised with a Local Champion award at the Living Wage Champions Awards ceremony in Cardiff and I want to thank everyone in the steering group for the part they play in advocating for the Living Wage in our city.

"Cardiff became the first Capital City in the UK to be recognised as a Living Wage City back in 2019 and since then we have worked tirelessly to spread the word about the benefits of paying the Living Wage to businesses and organisations in the city, supporting them to become accredited Living Wage employers themselves.

"We've made great progress but still want to achieve much more. We aim to reach 300 accredited Living Wage employers in the city, employing 95,000 people over the next few years to ensure that more people are earning a fair wage for a fair day's work."

The annual Living Wage Champion Awards celebrate individuals and organisations that have made an outstanding contribution to the Living Wage movement. This year, supported by sponsors Aviva and Cardiff & Vale Credit Union, they were held in Cardiff for the first time, in recognition of the strength and growth of the movement in the region.

Katherine Chapman, Director of the Living Wage Foundation said: "We are thrilled to congratulate this year's Living Wage Champion Award winners for their outstanding commitment to the real Living Wage. These exemplary employers have gone above and beyond to ensure that all workers are paid enough to live decent lives, demonstrating their dedication to fair pay and dignity in the workplace. After years of high living costs, it's still so important.

"By championing the real Living Wage, these organisations are not only transforming the lives of their employees, but are also setting a powerful example within their industries and communities. Because of their impressive leadership, record numbers of businesses have been inspired to accredit despite extremely challenging economic conditions, with now over 15,000 employers committed to always paying their workers in line with the cost of living. I warmly congratulate the Cardiff Living Wage City Steering Group on their well-deserved award and thank them for their support on the Living Wage movement."