National Express to pay living wage
13/03/2015
National Express transport firm has pledged to pay all it’s workers the living wage from January 2016.
National Express, who operate buses, coaches and trains have guaranteed that they will pay all their staff the living wage of £7.85 an hour (£9.15 an hour in London), which is around 20% higher than the national minimum wage of £6.50. Hundreds of low paid workers will now be in line for a pay rise, including contracted staff as well as employees. Nation Express is the first transport firm to pledge this.
Research has found that 22% of the UKs population are earning below the living wage. Around 1,200 firms in the UK have now agreed to pay their employers the rate of £7.85 per hour.
Dean Finch, chief executive of National Express, said:
“Committing to become a living wage employer in the UK testifies to our determination to be the best possible employer.”
Living Wage foundation director Rhys Moore said:
“We hope their announcement today and the leadership that they are showing, will lay down a marker in the transport sector. The Living Wage is a robust calculation that reflects the real cost of living, rewarding a hard day’s work with a fair day’s pay.”
Politicians were also keen on the pledge, with the Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin claiming the pay rise will have a “real impact”, and Labour leader Ed Miliband calling the pledge “fantastic news”.
Need financial Advice?
If you have any personal finance questions related to this news article, then please contact our financial advisers. You can get in touch by asking a question online, calling us on 0800 092 1245, or by arranging a visit.
Share this..
Related stories
Euro zone inflation falling off
In one of the rare pieces of welcome information to be released by the Euro zone, it was today revealed that inflation in June fell back to 1.4% from 1.6% in May. Analysts had predicted the rate would fall back to around 1.5% so many are relieved to see that pressure on prices would appear to be subdued. So what does this mean for the Euro zone economy? Inflation is a problem in areas such as t...
Read MoreHas George Osborne turned the credit rating agencies?
Yesterday's investment market reaction before and after the budget would appear to be very positive for the UK government with the gilts market reacting as George Osborne would have hoped. There is also a suggestion that credit rating agencies are now far happier than they were 24 hours ago in relation to a structured and realistic plan to tackle the UK budget deficit and sovereign debt. However,...
Read MoreRate rise hint from BoE deputy governor
The deputy governor of the Bank of England (BoE) has said he voted in favour of a rate rise earlier this month because he was "not convinced" current rates were sufficient for long-term sustainability among certain variables.In a speech at the University of Surrey, John Gieve said not acting on instability was a bigger issue than bringing about a slowdown.Mr Gieve said he voted for the rate rise e...
Read MoreWill we ever get to the bottom of the reasons for the current recession?
As the all-powerful Treasury select committee prepares itself for a serious grilling of some of the U.K.'s leading banking figures there is scepticism in many parts of the country as to whether we will ever get to the bottom of how the current economic climate was allowed to develop. While the Treasury select committee has the power to ask difficult questions and call expert witnesses, there are c...
Read MoreWere we banking on exports to pull the UK economy around?
When sterling was at its lowest level, just a few weeks ago, many analysts and economists were suggesting that the eventual increase in exports would to some extent place a base under the UK economy and allow it to stabilise. However, over the last few weeks we have seen the likes of the overall European market decline further, America hit further turbulence and other overseas markets appear to ta...
Read More