Greater Manchester has recently set out some ambitious new plans to make the area a ‘Living Wage City Region’.
And now, it’s become the first city-region to be officially recognised for it.
Given that this week is Living Wage Week 2021, and it’s a decade from the launch of the national Real Living Wage Campaign, the region’s leader have begun making strides to ensure that employees across all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs are paid a real Living Wage and offered good contracts and working conditions, and according to GMCA, the city-region’s progress towards this target has been recognised by the Living Wage Foundation – the independent body which champions the real Living Wage based on the cost of living and which accredits employers.
GMCA explains that Greater Manchester has put in place a dedicated taskforce that works across different sectors of the economy to “engage with employers and encourage them to support our ambitions”.
“We’re proud to be the UK’s leading Living Wage City-Region,” said Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham.
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“It’s a testament to the work we’ve done across our 10 boroughs, with businesses, the VCSE sector and other organisations, to show that paying the real Living Wage is not only the right thing for communities – it’s the right thing for employers too.”
🗣 “Payment of the real Living Wage is changing lives here in Greater Manchester.”
Andy will be speaking at @PHMMcr this morning as we become the first place officially recognised by @LivingWageUK for our plans to make this a Living Wage City-Region.
He continued: “Payment of the real Living Wage is changing lives here in Greater Manchester.
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“It’s the difference between just getting by and having a good wage that allows you to do more than simply pay the bills [and] we’ve made great progress but, with the rising cost of living felt sharply in some of the most disadvantaged places, we know there’s still a long way to go.
“That’s why we’re going to be out there this week making the compelling case for every single employer in our city-region to pay their workers the real Living Wage.”
Earlier this year, Andy Burnham established a Living Wage City-Region action group to bring together businesses, unions, local authorities, faith groups and voluntary and charitable organisations to drive forward plans.
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According to GMCA, the number of accredited Living Wage Employers has increased around threefold since the election of Andy Burnham as Mayor of Greater Manchester in 2017, with almost 384 employers in the city-region – covering around 100,000 employees – granted Living Wage Employer status, and work is now under way to increase that number to 650 in the next three years, boosting the number of workers in the city-region earning the real Living Wage.
Greater Manchester has recently set out some ambitious new plans to make the area a ‘Living Wage City Region’. / Credit: Twitter (@GMCitizens)
Currently, around 194,000 jobs in Greater Manchester – roughly 19% of all jobs in the city-region – pay less than the real Living Wage, which is the lowest since but the ambition is for all businesses in Greater Manchester to pay employees the real Living Wage and offer Living Hours contracts by 2030.
This figure is the lowest since wage level records began.
“With living costs rising so rapidly, today’s new Living Wage rates will provide thousands of workers and their families in Greater Manchester with security and stability. Alongside this, the steps Greater Manchester has taken to become a Living Wage City Region will help to lift many more out of working poverty and on to a wage that meets their everyday needs.
“We know that the Living Wage is good for businesses as well as workers, and as we rebuild our economy post pandemic, the real Living Wage will be crucial to rebuild on strong foundations.”
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You can find out more via the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) website here.
Featured Image – Flickr / Wikimedia Commons
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‘Groundbreaking’ new police team launches on Bee Network to make it one of the safest in the world
Emily Sergeant
A ‘groundbreaking’ new policing model aimed at making the Bee Network one of the safest public transport networks in the world has launched.
Described as being ‘pioneering’, the first-of-its-kind approach – named the Transport Policing and Crime Command (TPACC) – will bring Greater Manchester Police (GMP), Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) even closer together to tackle crime, antisocial behaviour, and safety issues across the region’s transport network.
So, how will it work then? Well, according to TfGM, the command will ‘effectively establish’ the Bee Network as GMP’s eleventh policing district.
It will bring together up to 300 personnel, including new police officers, who are all involved in keeping the network safe and providing greater reassurance to passengers travelling across the region.
Efforts to keep passengers safe on buses, trams, active travel routes, and roads across Greater Manchester will be ‘strengthened’ through the new team – improving co-ordination in response to incidents, and helping to reassure communities.
A ‘groundbreaking’ new police team has launched on the Bee Network to make it one of the safest in the world / Credit: TfGM
The new team will also incorporate the existing Roads Policing Unit within GMP that includes specialist functions such as the Central Ticket Office, the Tactical Vehicle Intercept Unit, the motorbike unit, the Commercial Vehicle Unit, the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, and more.
Overall, the key focus of TPACC is to:
Increase public confidence on safety across the transport network
Reduce violence, antisocial behaviour and criminality across the transport network
Increase the number of users of the Bee Network across Greater Manchester
The launch of TPACC is said to represents ‘the next phase’ of Greater Manchester’s commitment to creating a ‘safer, more secure, and more welcoming’ transport network for everyone who lives, works, and travels across the region.
“I want a world-class Bee Network where everyone feels safe,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor, Bev Craig.
“Our new dedicated transport policing command will bring together more than 300 police and safety officers, with high-profile patrols across our roads and the Bee Network. It means a stronger presence in our communities and faster action when people need help.
“TPACC will also crack down on dangerous driving to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roads, which have devastating consequences for families and communities.”
Featured Image – TfGM
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Two arrested after assaulting and burgling 90-year-old woman in Stockport suburb
Emily Sergeant
Two people have been arrested following reports of an assault and burglary at a 90-year-old woman’s home in a Stockport suburb.
While en-route to the incident in Heald Green – which was reported to Greater Manchester Police (GMP) at around 2:30am on 29 October – officers located the victim’s vehicle being driven by an unknown man.
The stolen vehicle made off from police before it lost control, went up a grass verge, and collided with a stationary vehicle.
Police confirmed that a white British man, aged 41, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of a burglary and serious assault, while a white British woman, aged 47, was also later arrested on suspicion of burglary and serious assault – with both remaining in custody for questioning.
The victim, a 90-year-old woman, was taken to hospital for treatment and is being supported by specialist officers, although luckily, her injuries are not life-threatening.
Enquiries are now ongoing, and officers are working to establish the full circumstances of the shocking incident.
“This was undoubtedly a traumatic experience for the victim, and we have specialist officers supporting her through this investigation,” explained Detective Inspector Craig Turner, from Stockport CID.
“This was a violent burglary and thanks to the brave victim reporting it, our officers made two swift arrests with the suspects taken into police custody to be interviewed.
“We believe this was a targeted attack and there is no wider risk to the community. Extra patrols of officers have been deployed to the area to offer reassurance to members of the community. Please let them know if you have any concerns.
“We are committed to tackling dangerous offenders and keeping our communities safe from harm.”
Emily Sergeant -
16th November 2021 
