Community Trust Signs Living Wage Pledge
Dundee United Community Trust strengthens Dundee’s Living Wage City ambition
Dundee United Community Trust has become accredited as a Living Wage employer, joining over 100 accredited Living Wage employers in Dundee who are working to ensure the local community and economy enjoys the benefits of the real Living wage. The Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at the Trust receive a minimum hourly wage of £10.90 per hour. This rate is significantly higher than the government minimum for over 23s, which currently stands at £10.42 per hour (from 1 April 2023).
Jamie Kirk, Chief Executive for Dundee United Community Trust, commented
“We recognise the important part that committing to the real Living Wage will play in meeting our aim of improving the lives of people in Dundee. We’re lucky to have a team of fantastic employees and we value the inspiring work they do in the Community every day. It’s important to us that we do all we possibly can to provide sustainable and fair employment opportunities in our City.”
In 2019, Dundee became the first place in the UK to achieve recognition for their ambitious plan to become a Living Wage City, a place-based approach to driving uptake of the real Living Wage by local businesses. This ambition is strengthened by Dundee United Community Trust’s commitment to the real Living Wage.
Speaking on behalf of Dundee Living Wage Action Group, Dundee City Council City Development convener Cllr Mark Flynn said:
"I am delighted to welcome Dundee United Community Trust to the Dundee living wage family. The trust does a tremendous amount of work for the people in their local community and the wider city. As ward councillor for Coldside, in which the football club and trust are based, I see this first hand and appreciate all they do. I'm really pleased to see another charitable organisation commit to paying the real Living Wage. It helps to build a strong local economy, make employees feel valued and offers more security and stability."
In Scotland, 91% of all jobs pay at least the real Living Wage, this is higher than any other UK nation. Despite this, nearly 1 in 10 jobs still pay less than the real Living Wage, this equates to 221,000 jobs. The real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate calculated according to the costs of living. Employers choose to pay the real Living Wage on a voluntary basis, recognising the value of their workers and ensuring that a hard day’s work receives a fair day’s pay. Since 2011 the Living Wage movement has delivered a pay rise to over 60,000 people in Scotland and put over £370 million extra into the pockets of low paid Scottish workers.
Christine McCaig, Living Wage Scotland Projects Coordinator said:
“We are delighted to welcome Dundee United Community Trust to our network of over 3,000 Scottish employers who together want to go further than the government minimum. Our growing network in Dundee includes a range of employers from Abertay University to V&A Dundee. Employers like Dundee United Community Trust are helping to set the standard for employers in Scotland by making sure that workers have what they need to get by, and we hope to see many more employers following their example.”
The Community Trust would like to encourage other employers in the City to join this fantastic movement in order to help ensure that a hard days work pays a fair days wage. You can find out more at www.scottishlivingwage.org/accredited.
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