This year’s Living Wage Week was our biggest one yet and we would like to thank everyone who took the time to celebrate the Living Wage movement. The Living Wage Scotland team attended events across the country to celebrate the network and to support the announcement of several newly accredited Living Wage employers.
At the beginning of the week, the new rate of £9.30 was announced by Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills when he visited the newly accredited Delight Supported Living in Kirkintilloch.
Events
On the 6th of November, we were delighted to gather over 60 employers and supporters at the Scottish Parliament for an evening reception. Hosted by Patrick Harvie MSP, the reception provided the opportunity to find out about Living Wage Scotland’s work. We also heard from fantastic speakers: Martha Crawford from the Living Wage Foundation, Minister for Fair Work, Business and Skills Jamie Hepburn MSP and Sandy Macdonald the head of Corporate Sustainability at Standard Life Aberdeen Plc.
The following day, Fife Voluntary Action hosted a Living Wage event for 30 employers from across Fife, who benefitted from an employment law update, top tips on tendering, as well as information on ways to promote Living Wage accreditation.
The Lanarkshire Living Wage Big Breakfast was held on the 12th of November. The event was opened by Councillor Maureen Chalmers of South Lanarkshire Council, after which we heard from Alison Harkin of ACE Place Nursery and Out of School Care and Kate Clark from Routes to Work Limited. We also heard from two modern apprentices Nicole Lennon and Nicola Meikle about their experience of earning the real Living Wage.
The Scottish Borders Living Wage Group held their second annual business breakfast at the council Headquarters on the 13th of November. The breakfast was attended by Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills, who announced the accreditation of Scottish Borders Council.
Later that day Standard Life Aberdeen Plc hosted 40 attendees from across the North East at Aberdeen Standard Investments for a Living Wage celebration lunch event. We heard from Sandy MacDonald, Head of Corporate Sustainability at Standard Life Aberdeen, Callum Richardson from the Bay Fish & Chips and Dougie Cameron from the newly accredited Belmont Filmhouse.
North Ayrshire Council hosted a Business Breakfast on the 14th of November. Attendees heard about North Ayrshire Council’s experience of Living Wage accreditation from council leader Joe Cullinane, alongside passionate and practical case studies from two Ayrshire based business leaders: Craig Hume from Utopia Computers, and Bruce McMaster from Golphin.
On the same day, University of Glasgow hosted an event to launch an evidence-based pack for HR and organisational leaders. We had a fantastic programme of speakers including Dr Andrea Werner, Dr David Nash and Dr Ishbel McWha-Hermann followed by a panel discussion with Living Wage accredited Heart of Midlothian FC, The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Amiqus. This event was supported by the Adam Smith Business School at the University of Glasgow.
The Living Wage Scotland Awards marked the end of a fantastic week on Friday the 15th of November in the Technology and Innovation Centre at Strathclyde University. This excellent event allowed us to celebrate Living Wage accredited employers who have gone above and beyond in their dedication to the movement this year. You can read more about the awards here.
Ministerial Visits
During Living Wage Week many of our accredited employers also hosted ministerial visits to celebrate their Living Wage journey.
Royal Scots Club hosted Kate Forbes, Minister for Public Finance and the Digital Economy, Grassmarket Community Project hosted Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy Fergus Ewing, The Scotch Whisky Experience was visited by Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work Derek Mackay, Scottish Veterans Residences hosted Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills, Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) hosted Ash Denham Minister for Community Safety, SCIAF hosted a visit from Ben MacPherson, Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development, SMS Plc hosted Michael Matheson, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity, ABC Private Nursery welcomed Maree Todd, Minister for Children and Young People, Lanarkshire Association for Mental Health hosted Christine McKelvie, Minister for Older People and Equalities, Epilepsy Scotland hosted a visit from Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills, Social Security Scotland was visited by Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People.
New Accreditations
Many new employers also joined the Living Wage movement during the week, including: V&A Dundee, Thornton’s solicitors, DC Thomson charity Breakthrough, Kingdom Community Bank, DPS Group, The Centre for the Moving Image, Scottish Borders Council and Alzheimer’s Scotland.
You can read more about these announcements on our website.
We would like to say congratulations and welcome to all newly accredited Living Wage employers and thank you again to all employers who helped to make Living Wage Week 2019 such a success!