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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Manchester United fans planning another major protest amid more upheaval around the club
Danny Jones
Manchester United supporters look set to stage another high-profile demonstration in protest against the INEOS Sports ownership group.
This is the latest response to the club’s continuing struggles, and not just the first proper organised mobilisation of the year, but the first since the most recent major march last spring.
Following the sacking of ‘manager’ Ruben Amorim, despite co-owner Jim Ratcliffe and his board of executives insisting that the Portuguese head coach (that distinction proving to be a crucial detail), the local sporting giants are once again starting from scratch and looking for another replacement boss.
With that in mind, militant fan group The 1958 announced their most recent protest ahead of a home fixture next month in a rather bold fashion…
As announced we protest against this dysfunctional co-ownership before Fulham.
Yep, neither Amorim, Erik ten Hag, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, nor any face even remotely associated with Old Trafford/Carrington is safe from an AI parody.
As for The 1958 group’s actual protest plans, speaking via the BBC this week, the supporters’ trust has confirmed that they will be making a vocal statement outside the stadium on Sunday, 1 February.
Travelling Reds already made their thoughts known with a very blunt, provocative and somewhat controversial banner in the away end at Turf Moor for the 2-2 draw against Burnley.
With Man United approaching a third-round FA Cup tie against Brighton and two big games in the form of a Manchester Derby at home and a trip to Arsenal, they have decided to choose the Fulham game at Old Trafford to stage the march.
Despite admitting that the results under Amorim were no way near good enough, they insist that the – most notably the overarching and Glazer family shadow ever looming over the organisation.
Further details around the actual timings and locations are still yet to be shared by the organisers, but you can expect this to be a well-attended, large-scale event.
Often convening at The Tollgate pub near regular matchday tram stop, Trafford Bar, before walking down Talbot Road towards the ground itself, we imagine Reds will then descend upon the Theatre of Dreams in their thousands.
In case you didn’t already surmise from the video itself, Ratcliffe and co. will be no doubt the subject of the usual chants, as well as more banners and flags.
What do you make of the latest plans, Man United fans?
Nothing will ever be quite as bold as the infamous Old Trafford break-in from 2022 (Credit: The Manc)
More Greater Manchester football matches called off as Storm Goretti sets in
Danny Jones
Yet more scheduled football matches in Greater Manchester and the surrounding regions have been postponed and/or cancelled due to Storm Goretti.
The increasingly cold, blustery and icy conditions moving over from France and across more parts of the UK have already caused schools to close, flights to be grounded, and plenty more disruption.
Another such inconvenience has come in the form of live sports, large swathes of which now look like they simply won’t be taking place.
One of the latest to be called off is Salford City‘s upcoming game against Swindon Town in the FA Cup this weekend, with various other games involving teams up and down the footballing pyramid now facing uncertainty over whether their third-round fixtures will go ahead as planned.
Ironically, this is just the tip of the iceberg, if you’ll pardon the very obvious pun.
Another game that was called off late last week, between Chadderton and FC Isle of Man, is yet to be rescheduled; the same is true of Rochdale AFC’s meeting with Brackley Town, Radcliffe v Oxford City, as well as games involving Bury, Stockport Town, Irlam, Cheadle Town, Prestwich Heys and more.
Other nearby outfits, such as Chorley, Warrington Rylands and Ramsbottom United, just to name a few, are also still unsure of when their next game will be.
In many cases, it is simply a matter of the grounds being largely or completely frozen and deemed unfit for use following pitch inspections.
Oldham Athletic – which has already been hit with plenty of snow and frost – yesterday confirmed that their Notts County clash wouldn’t be going ahead due to that very reason.
With winds of up to 90 miles per hour also being reported, yellow and even red weather warnings have been issued across various parts of the country, with people being urged to check their routes home from work by local authorities.
Storm Goretti should start calming down this evening (Fri, 9 January) and into Saturday morning, but the after-effects could still play havoc over the next few days.
For instance, over in Cheshire, Macclesfield FC are going so far as to call on nearby residents to help clear their playing surface from heavy snowfall.
So, if you’re in the area and fancy helping out, they could sure do with your help.
VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED
Macclesfield FC are once again requesting the help of the fanbase and the local community to help clear the remainder of the compacted snow from the surrounding areas of the https://t.co/fL99QEEJ4D Stadium.
Emily Sergeant -
16th November 2021 
