From today, Tuesday 24th of October, the 460,000 workers in the UK currently who receive the Real Living Wage will receive a 10 percent pay rise, bringing their hourly wage up to £12 outside London and £13.15 in London.
The Real Living Wage is based on the cost of living determined by an independent group, The Living Wage Foundation. It’s higher than the National Living Wage (the cynically rebranded name of the minimum wage set by the government.)
At the moment, 14,000 employers in the UK use the Real Living Wage instead of the government set minimum, meaning that 460,000 workers are better off.
At a time when many employed people in the UK are having to claim welfare benefits just to feed their families, the extra money no doubt improves the quality of many lives.
As happy as we should be about the Real Living Wage, we should always remember that this is a voluntary scheme that businesses can withdraw from at any time. The Living Wage Foundation sells this program to businesses on the basis that it improves their profits. The moment that employers stop believing that, they’ll withdraw from the program, potentially plunging hundreds of thousands of people into poverty.
The only way that we can guarantee a decent standard of living for ordinary people is by taking public ownership of the economy.
When the state is run for the benefit of the majority, not for the benefit of investors, we can focus on making sure the needs of ordinary people are met. We need to achieve socialism so that the whole of society, including the economy, can serve the needs of the overwhelming majority.
