The Blackburn and District Trades Union Council (TUC) said it has written to companies who are contracted to their local council to ask them to commit to both paying the real Living Wage and seek Living Wage Foundation accreditation.

The Bwd TUC said during 'Living Wage Week' earlier this month they aimed to encourage employers to seek Foundation accreditation.

The government announced recently that it is increasing the 'National' Living Wage rates from £11.44 to £12.21 an hour for 21 year olds and over, with a separate minimum wage rate for those aged 18-20 of £10 an hour. These rates come into effect from April 1 next year.

The Bwd TUC said: "This is welcome news, but it is important to remember that the National Living Wage is just the Minimum Wage rebranded – the legal minimum employers must pay. It is not the same as the 'real' Living Wage, which is currently £12.60 an hour (£13.85 in London).

"There are differing views as to what should be the minimum amount that people are paid.

"Since 2022 the Trades Union Congress has argued for a Minimum Wage of £15 an hour.  The 'real Living Wage' is less ambitious than that, but it is at least based on calculations that take the cost of living into account, alongside allowing for small discretionary expenses – for example, a meal out for a child’s birthday."

The Bwd TUC said: "The Trades Council has supported Living Wage Week this year by writing to companies who are contracted by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council to provide Adult Social Care, to ask them to commit to both paying the real Living Wage and seeking Living Wage Foundation accreditation.

"A Report to the Council’s Executive Board in March 2024 – 'Adult Social Care Provider Fee Uplifts for 2024/25' – said that fees for some services would be uplifted from 01/04/2024 'in line with the Real Living Wage increase', and so we thought it would be opportune to raise the issue with these local social care providers.

"We see  privatised adult social care sector jobs as being prone to inadequate terms and conditions when compared with the public sector jobs they have often supplanted. 

"They may not be universal, but think of issues such as unpaid travel time between 'jobs', 'sleep in' shifts that are not counted as part of the basic working week, lack of unsocial hours payments, and exclusion from the NHS or Local Authority Pension Schemes. 

"So pay rates are not the be all and end all of the problems in this sector.  Applying Living Wage Foundation rates would, nevertheless, be a big start."

The group added: "Low pay is, of course, a problem for us in more than just the care sector.  We shall continue to campaign for local employers across the board to take the Living Wage Foundation pledge."