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BORIS JOHNSON has been urged to honour his promise to pay government workers the London Living Wage (LLW).
The PCS union has written to the new Prime Minister demanding that he act on his spoken commitment to pay department workers and contracted staff £10.55 an hour.
Thousands of government employees are currently paid below that amount, with many workers employed by agencies receiving only the minimum wage.
Some groups of workers, including at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) last month, have taken strike action for better pay in recently.
Mr Johnson made the pledge to pay a living wage to every entry-level worker and cleaner in response to a question from Labour MP Catherine West in the Commons on July 25.
Responding to Ms West’s question, he said: “The answer is yes. I was very proud when I was running London that we massively expanded the living wage.
“We made sure that it was paid not just by Greater London Authority bodies but by their contractors as well, and that is what we should be doing.”
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “We welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment to the living wage for members working in government departments and their contractors, but our low-paid members now need action not words.
“We have now written to him and asked him to honour this commitment, and intervene with the Treasury and government departments and ensure that they become living wage employers.”
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell warned Mr Johnson he looks set to break yet another promise in just two weeks’ time.
“He’s said that new government department workers and contractors, many of whom are outsourced and are taking strike action over atrocious terms and conditions, should be paid the living wage — and he must honour that basic commitment,” said Mr McDonnell.
“This out-of-touch Prime Minister, who couldn’t even say what the living wage was in June, should listen to the demands of PCS and take steps immediately to ensure that his government pays the living wage to all people it employs.”
