Today sees the introduction of the National Living Wage. Labour whole-heartedly welcomes any move to boost pay for working people on low wages. But there are two big problems.
First, the so-called ‘National Living Wage’ is nothing of the sort. It is £1 lower than the real living wage which is calculated by the independent Living Wage Foundation based on the cost of living. It is over £2 lower than the living wage in London. A nursery assistant working full time on the National Living Wage in Liverpool will earn £2,184 a year below the real living wage; a cleaner in London on the National Living Wage will earn over £4,500 a year below the real living wage.
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