South East Water becomes first company in sector to commit to the Living Wage
I am the independent Chair of the Customer Challenge Group at South East Water which supplies drinking water to 2.1 million customers in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire. So I am pleased that this Living Wage Week South East Water has been announced as the first water company to receive accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation for paying its employees the Living Wage.
The Living Wage commitment will see everyone, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers; receive a minimum hourly wage of £7.85 – significantly higher than the national minimum wage of £6.50.
The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. The Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living using the ‘Minimum Income Standard’ for the UK. Decisions about what to include in this standard are set by the public; it is a social consensus about what people need to make ends meet.
Caroline Fife, Unison Regional Organiser, said: “We are delighted to see South East Water become the first water company to sign up to the Living Wage. We asked for this during pay claim negotiations and are pleased to see the company has taken this step.”
Living Wage Foundation Director, Rhys Moore said: “South East Water is the first water company to sign up to the voluntary Living Wage movement, joining SSE within the utilities sector. We hope that the leadership shown by South East Water will encourage others in their industry to find out more about both the business and people benefits that becoming a Living Wage employer can bring to an organisation.”