Call to pay every worker in Dundee the living wage
Paying every worker in Dundee the Living Wage is the aim of a new commission that’s been meeting in the city.
Paying every worker in Dundee the Living Wage is the aim of a new commission that’s been meeting in the city.
Dundee’s first Fairness Commission have committed to tackling the causes and effects of poverty at a national and local level.
Less than a year after its first meeting the 17-strong group of experts brought together to tackle poverty in the city has released its recommendations.
Among them are a drive for every job in Dundee to pay at least the Living Wage on the principle of a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work and support and flexibility by service providers for people moving between benefits and work or between jobs.
Cllr Jimmy Black convener of the commission said: “We made a commitment to bring forward a thorough and well researched plan to deal with one of the most difficult issues facing our city and I believe these recommendations fulfil that promise.
“I said when we launched the commission that I wanted to see us make recommendations that will lead to real change and that will make the well established strategy for tackling poverty in Dundee much more successful and that is exactly what this report does. It has galvanised support from across the political spectrum and from agencies, organisations and individuals from every corner of the city. The valuable in-put we have had throughout the commission’s life from all of those partners goes on, but as that process continues what we have here is a document that can be the catalyst for real change in Dundee. Our work with the commission to date has been eye-opening, even for those of us who deal with poverty and its effects on people and communities, and so to be at a point where we can offer tangible actions to begin the journey that will rid our city of its most corrosive consequences is extremely encouraging.”
Alison Henderson chief executive of Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce, who is a member of the commission said: “Eradicating poverty in Dundee must be a priority for all of us and the business community can play its part by looking closely at its own employment and recruitment practices.
“I am confident that our members will seize the baton that the Fairness Commission has extended and run with it to improve the lives of people blighted by poverty in the city.”
Dundee Fairness Commission was created under the auspices of the Dundee Partnership which pools the strengths of key agencies including Dundee City Council, Scottish Enterprise, Police Scotland and NHS Tayside, along with local academic institutions and representatives of the business, voluntary and community sectors to ensure that it makes a significant and lasting contribution.