Council will Only use Firms Offering Living Wage

The leader of Scotland's largest local authority has set out plans to create a more prosperous economy with a moral purpose''. Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson announced it would change its procurement process to give amaterial advantage'' to firms which pay their staff the Living Wage. He also said that when awarding contracts the council would further reward'' companies who do not useexploitative zero-hours contracts'' and who do not use blacklisting. He hopes the move will help tackle the scandal'' of in-work poverty. The council will also increase its Glasgow Living Wage - the minimum rate paid to the council's 19,500 staff and a further 41,500 workers across the city - from £7.65 to £7.85 in April next year.

We spoke with Mr Matheson before his speech at the State of the City Economic Conference...

Mr Matheson said he would be writing to every business in the city urging them to follow suit. He told the State of the City Economy Conference: A further two companies have now signed up to paying the Glasgow Living Wage - Nationwide Building Society and NG Homes. More than 61,000 employees now work for an organisation that pays the Glasgow Living Wage.'' He went on:Our approach to bringing prosperity to everyone in Glasgow goes further than this. For example, our procurement policy will reward those companies who pay the Glasgow Living Wage, offer real community benefits, don't employ staff on exploitative zero-hours contracts and who don't have a track of blacklisting trade union members. The responsibility to tackle the scandal of in-work poverty is something that is shared by the council and all of the contractors and suppliers we do business with.'' Mr Matheson also promised the council's money advice service would receive guaranteed funding of £3.5 million a year for the next five years, and made a commitment that the council would seek to develop innovative ways to build more affordable homes to meet the needs of the city's growing population. The Glasgow Commonwealth Guarantee, which has created more than 5,400 jobs and apprenticeships for people in the city over the last five years, will continue to be funded until 2017-18, he added.