City's work to champion better wages for workers in running for national award

The city has been shortlisted in The Living Wage Places Champion category of this year's Living Wage Champion Awards.

These are held annually to celebrate individuals and organisations who have made an outstanding contribution to the Living Wage Movement.

The Living Wage Places Champion category recognises Living Wage Employers or groups of Living Wage employers who use their role to influence other businesses in their area to adopt good employment practices which benefit both their communities and the local economy.

Last November, Sunderland became the first city in the north-east to be recognised as a Living Wage Place by the Living Wage Foundation.

Since then, led by the City Council, partners across Sunderland have continued to work together to secure better wages for workers across the city and more money going into the local economy, in line with Sunderland's ambition to become a Real Living Wage City.

Councillor Graeme Miller, the Leader of Sunderland City Council, said: "As a city committed to seeing more money going into the local economy and fewer of our hard working residents earning poverty pay, we're delighted to have been nominated for this award.

"In Sunderland we have around a quarter of children living in poverty, workless households account for one in every five households and around 20 per cent of those who are in work are on or just above the minimum wage - which feeds into a whole range of social and economic problems. We believe that work should pay, or at least pay enough for people to live on."

"So for us this is all about doing our very best to support our residents by making sure that they are paid a fair day's pay for a fair day's work, which is all the more important given the current cost of living crisis."

Sunderland City Council has paid its own employees the Real Living Wage recommended by the Living Wage Foundation since 2014. Following accreditation in 2020, it extended this commitment to staff working for council contractors as contracts are renewed. 

As part of ongoing work to make Sunderland a Real Living Wage city, other local employers are also being encouraged to sign up to the Real Living Wage and work together to support this goal.

Cabinet Secretary, Councillor Paul Stewart who chairs the Sunderland Real Living Wage Action Group, said: "Paying a living wage not only benefits the lowest paid individuals but also the wider local economy, communities and the city. 

"That's why we've spent the last two years working closely with Citizens UK and other anchor organisations across the city to share evidence with local employers and businesses which proves that paying workers a fair day's pay for a hard day's work will be spent across our local economy, in local businesses and local shops, creating more jobs and more security."

Sunderland will find out in July if it has been successful in the awards.