The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has been officially recognised as a living wage employer.
It means the WMCA joins nearly 6,000 other employers who pay the real living wage, an independently calculated rate higher than the current national minimum wage.
The Living Wage Foundation, which has given the WMCA the official accreditation, encourages all employers that can afford to do so to pay the real living wage, and encourage its suppliers to do the same.
Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street said: “We are pleased to receive this important acknowledgement from the Living Wage Foundation. When an employer pays the real living wage, they are not just benefiting their employees they are contributing to the growth of the region’s economy.”
Cllr Brigid Jones, WMCA portfolio lead for Inclusive Communities said: "This is an important step towards the West Midlands becoming a Real Living Wage region. If we're going to deliver genuinely inclusive growth, then we must ensure that more people earn a wage they can actually live on."
Lee Barron WMCA board member and TUC Midlands regional secretary said: “We welcome the accreditation of the WMCA as a living wage employer and hope this encourages more employers to follow suit.
“Work should be a route out of poverty, yet for too many workers across the West Midlands this isn’t the case. Wages have been stuck in the slow lane for over a decade. We’ve got to do more, and the real living wage is a key component.
“Let us now work together to encourage more employers to follow the WMCA’s lead and ensure the real living wage is the norm, and not the exception, in our region.”
Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage Foundation, said: “We are delighted to accredit the West Midlands Combined Authority as a living wage employer, joining over 6,000 British employers volunteering to go further than the government minimum to make sure all their staff earn enough to live on.”
