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In photos: Living Wage Week kicks off at The Globe, where good work took centre stage

In photos: Living Wage Week kicks off at The Globe, where good work took centre stage

Two leaders stand on stage at Shakespeare's Globe, wearing aprons and holding cloths and a mop.
This year's Living Wage Week officially kicked off at Shakespeare’s Globe, where good work took centre stage! The morning began with a theatre performance which touched on leaders' lived experiences of life on low pay in the city, as well as musical performance by St Antony's choir.
Katherine Chapman, Director of the Living Wage Foundation, stands holding up a sign which reads 'we are a Living Wage employer', alongside representatives for key accredited Living Wage businesses
Community leaders, member institutions and businesses gathered together to celebrate the real Living Wage movement and the achievements of the Making London a Living Wage City Campaign, as well as championing businesses who had taken the next steps to become Living Hours and Living Pensions employers.
Two people are deep in conversation, both holding a pledge card
Whilst there was lots to celebrate, employers were also encouraged to consider their next commitments to the movement. Through discussion with other employers, attendees filled out pledge cards with commitments they wanted to see through, whether that be spreading the word to other organisations, becoming an accredited real Living Wage employer themselves, or even going further and pledging to become an accredited Living Hours or Living Pensions employer.
Howard Dawber, Deputy Mayor of London for Business and Growth, stands at a podium on stage giving a speech
The event had a broad variety of speakers, including Howard Dawber Deputy Mayor of London for Business and Growth, who said "it's clear that the impact of the movement is felt beyond the very impressive numbers of people who have actually signed up. Of course it is not just about rate of pay, also the security of work. It's hard work, but it's real progress delivering real change".
Jane Swift, CEO of Borough Market, stands at a podium centre stage giving a speech
Jane Swift, CEO of Borough Market, touched on how their decision to accredit was a moral one, but that Living Hours is the next crucial step. She said "A lot of people don't realise but Borough Market is a charity, so for us to really live out our values as a charity... it's a no brainer [to accredit]. We need to pay people the right amount and the right amount without secure hours is just not good enough. We have made sure our employees have at least 16 hours a week. Most of them are on full time contracts, so only those that want to work less hours are doing so. We also ensure our employees have enough notice of their shifts".
Katherine Chapman, Director of The Living Wage Foundation, is standing on stage giving a speech at a podium
Katherine Chapman, Director of The Living Wage Foundation, acknowledged the incredible wins that the Making London a Living Wage City campaign has seen this past year, saying "there is so much to be proud of; London alone now has more than 4,000 accredited Living Wage Employers, more than 140,000 workers in London have been uplifted onto the Living Wage and there have countless brilliant examples of community organising delivering real and tangible benefits. Making London a Living Wage City has in the past year again made significant growth in key sectors. Since the project began, we’ve seen an 88% increase in cultural and creative accredited employers, 80% of NHS trusts have accredited, our first ICB accreditation has taken place in North East London and we have seen the expansion of Living Wage Places".
Citizens UK leaders on stage announcing the end of an assembly
Sylvie Pope

Our vision for London is simple.

The Making London a Living Wage City project, led by Citizens UK, the Living Wage Foundation and the Mayor of London, is working to tackle issues of low pay and insecure work through Living Wage and Living Hours accreditations.

It aims to put over £635m back into the pockets of low paid workers, and lift tens of thousands of workers out of in-work poverty by boosting the number of accredited Living Wage and Living Hours employers across the capital.

Find out more

Posted by Sophie Thomhave-Lee on 7 Nov, 2024

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