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Almost half a million Brits given pay rise as real Living Wage jumps to £12 an hour today
It's being called a "vital lifeline" for the country's low-paid workers.
Almost half a million Brits have been given a pay rise from today as the real Living Wage has risen to £12 an hour.
The real Living Wage – which is set by the Living Wage Foundation, and remains the only wage rates that are independently-calculated based on what people actually need to live on – has increased its rate increased by 10% in the UK, which means over 460,000 people working for 14,000 real Living Wage Employers throughout the country are set to benefit.
As the cost of living crisis sadly continues to make its impact felt nationwide, the real Living Wage rate’s rise to £12 an hour – which is a £1.10 increase – means hundreds of thousands of workers will get a “vital pay boost” from today.
In London, the rate has now also risen to £13.15 an hour – which is £1.20 increase from before.
Operated on a voluntary opt-in basis, some of the big-name companies currently signed up to the real Living Wage scheme – which launched nationally in 2011 – include Aviva, Burberry, Ikea, KPMG, and Nationwide.
Unlike the Government‘s minimum wage – which is known as the National Living Wage for over 23s, and is currently set at £10.42 – the real Living Wage is the only wage rate independently calculated based on rising living costs, and applies to everyone over 18.
A full-time worker earning the new real Living Wage would earn £3,081 a year more than a worker earning the current Government minimum, and £2,145 more than their current pay.
The Living Wage Foundation said the real Living Wage pay increase today would provide a “lifeline” for many employees that are continuing to struggle with “stubbornly high prices” – with recent research published by the charity having found that, despite easing inflation, the cost of living crisis is far from over for the country’s lowest-paid workers.
50% of low-paid workers were found to be worse off than a year ago, 43% reported regularly using a foodbank at least once a month, 60% have used a foodbank in the past year, and 39% reported falling behind on household bills.
“As inflation eases, we cannot forget that low paid workers remain at the sharp end of the cost of living crisis,” commented the Living Wage Foundation’s Director, Katherine Chapman, as the rate rises today.
“Low paid workers continue to struggle with stubbornly high prices because they spend a larger share of their budget on food and energy, but these new real Living Wage rates are a lifeline for the 460,000 workers who will get a pay rise.
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“During these tough economic times, it’s heartening that record numbers of employers are signing up to join the Living Wage movement to protect everyone who works for them.
“The real Living Wage has never been more important.”
Featured Image – Pxhere
News
NHS to begin offering new one-minute jab to women with ‘aggressive’ form of cancer
Emily Sergeant
The NHS is set to begin offering new immunotherapy for hundreds of women with aggressive cervical cancer across the country.
Pembrolizumab – which experts have described as being able to ‘take the handbrake off’ the body’s immune system to target cancer – will now be presented as a new treatment option for women in England with locally-advanced cervical cancer, which means the cancer has grown beyond the cervix to regions such as the pelvic wall, but not yet spread further around the body.
Trials found that adding pembrolizumab to standard chemoradiotherapy helped keep cancer ‘at bay’ for longer, and improved survival rates overall.
Two years after starting the treatment, nearly seven in 10 patients (68%) were still living without their cancer progressing, compared with 57% for those receiving chemoradiotherapy alone, according to NHS figures.
The trial also found that 82.6% of patients were still alive three years after treatment with pembrolizumab and chemoradiotherapy, compared with 74.8% with chemoradiotherapy alone.
The drug is either given every three or siz weeks via an infusion, or as a ‘one-minute’ injection, alongside chemoradiotherapy.
The NHS estimates around 550 patients in England will be eligible for the treatment – which has been approved this week by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) – over the next two years.
Patients will now receive fast-tracked access, funded by NHS England’s Cancer Drugs Fund.
“This is great news for women facing a diagnosis of aggressive cervical cancer, and represents one of the biggest improvements in treatment for this disease in recent years,” commented Professor Peter Johnson, who is the NHS National Clinical Director for Cancer.
“Combining this immunotherapy with existing treatment has had very positive effect for patients in trials, helping the body’s immune system to target cancer more effectively.
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“We’re delighted it will be available for patients on the NHS as it could help hundreds more women survive and stay cancer-free in the long-term.”
Featured Image – NappyStudio (via Unsplash)
News
Andy Burnham wants to bring the ‘Greater Manchester way’ to Westminster
Emily Sergeant
Andy Burnham has set out his vision for the country if he is to become Prime Minister.
In case you need brining up to speed first, after it was announced earlier this month that Andy Burnham had clinched the victory in the crucial Makerfield by-election, winning 24,927 votes (54.8% vote share) and a majority of 9,231, he then went onto announce his intention to run for Labour Party leader, and therefore Prime Minister, after Keir Starmer confirmed he would be stepping down.
And this week, Mr Burnham has now delivered his first speech as part of his ongoing campaign, addressing how he plans to give the country a ‘new direction’.
Burnham says that he wants to bring the ‘Greater Manchester way’ to Westminster.
A lot has been discussed and reported on when it comes to Burnham’s intentions to create a so-called Number 10 North here in Manchester, but what exactly does it mean to take the ‘Greater Manchester way’ to the capital?
“The Greater Manchester way is based on strong partnership between all sectors: public, private,
community, voluntary, academic, faith, and our trade unions,” Burnham said in his speech.
He continued: “When I started as Mayor in 2017, we set about building a new approach, a new politics based on the exact opposite of the Westminster approach.
“Place-first, not party-first. Problem-solving, not point-scoring. Long-term, not short-term.
“A decade on, it’s incredible how much we’ve been able to achieve by working together instead
of fighting against one another.”
Burnham said he feels the truth is that the country spends ‘too much time arguing and not enough time doing’ and that for Britain to get back where it ‘should be’, his Government would ask everyone to ‘face the same way’ and then ‘pull in that same direction together’.
He declared that No 10 North will be the ‘nerve centre’ for a rewired Britain.
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“It will be the conduit through which we redistribute power and resources across the UK,” he concluded. “It will coordinate all parts of Government, at national and local level, to agree a long-term
economic strategy and help all places set new growth ambitions.”
Featured Image – GMCA
Emily Sergeant -
24th October 2023 
