The Living Wage rate has always been considerably higher than what the minimum wage is, and 1 in 5 people ear significantly less than a real living wage. But little has been done to combat the rise in the cost of living and the stagnation of wages. The Living Wage Foundation is working with many employers so that they can provide employees with a proper salary. Previously George Osborne triumphantly announced what is a wage band under his reign as Chancellor. But what is the new living wage rate recently announced and how does it affect us?
Previously the living was £9.40 for London and £8.25 for the rest of the UK, but Sadiq Khan announced that the living wage has increased to £9.75 in London and £8.45 across the rest of the UK.
These represent an increase of 3.7% within London and the rest of the UK rate has increased by 2.4%.
Impact on Businesses
This year over 300 companies have signed up to the guarantee that they will provide employees with a living wage in London. This brings the number of employers providing oneclose to 1000, which is a sign of progression from companies across London.Within thelast year, the number of companies that signed up to providing a living wage was approximately 1000, bringing the total number of accredited Living Wage organisations to nearly 3000. This is a clear sign of progression across the country. The impact on businesses is clear and the government must help those small to medium sized business that need it the most, so they can provide each one of their employees a real wage to be able to live on.
The companies that have already signed up to the commitment highlight the fact that it is good business to provide a living wage. Whilst the smaller to medium sized businesses will need support, it is the larger companies that should lead the way. The impact on business is largely positive, when Labour introduced the minimum wage in 1998, it had a direct result of an increase of approximately 3 million jobs.Providing a wage that people can live on, not just survive,is not just socially and morally the right decision but economically as well.
A society that provides its citizens with a real living wage offers better cohesion and creates a better atmosphere for everyone.
A Progressive Solution
Society needs a more progressive solution to its problems though, and whilst the living wage is a good step, something more needs to be done to combat the increasing cost of living.
There are numerous solutions to this issue and they include ideas such as a form of land tax, or the Universal Basic Income (UBI). Something progressive is needed within a society that is changing quickly, where year by year something drastic has changed.
Technology advances faster than ever before and this changes the way we live our daily lives. We have needs to protect the environment we live in, changing the way we look at energy and moving onto renewables is a must. Without real advancement humanity threatens to stagnate into this destructive species, and this ideology must change to protect ourselves and the planet we live on.
