Living Wage move would help 467,000 Scots, SNP says
The SNP has called on the UK Government to raise its national living wage of ÂŁ7.50
Plans for a real living wage would benefit almost half a million Scots, the SNP has said.
The party cited figures from the Scottish Parliament's Information Centre showing that 467,000 people in Scotland earn less than the real living wage, currently set at ÂŁ8.45 per hour.
The SNP has called on the UK Government to raise its national living wage of ÂŁ7.50 to the level of the real living wage and extend it to all workers over 18.
The move would mean all workers earning more than ÂŁ10 an hour by 2022, boosting annual pay by almost ÂŁ5,000, the party said.
SNP MSP Ash Denham said: “Scotland is leading the way on fair pay with 845 employers now signed up on a voluntary basis to giving their workers a real living wage.
“In government, we've done what we can in our public sector to ensure that hard-working staff get the fair wages they need to live on.
“In the next five years, we want to see real change across the whole of the UK - moving to a real living wage for everyone, increasing wages to over £10 per hour by 2022.
“That standard would apply equally to everyone in work above the age of 18 since young people share the same pressures in meeting the costs of living.
“That would mean a £5,000 boost to pay packets for half a million people in Scotland.”
Labour has also pledged to increase the statutory minimum wage of ÂŁ7.50 per hour for over-25s to ÂŁ10 an hour by 2020.
The party also plans to scrap the lower youth rates of ÂŁ5.60 an hour for those aged 18 to 20 and ÂŁ7.05 for 21 to 24-year-olds in favour of the single ÂŁ10 rate.