Implementing the living wage in UK local government

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. Implementing the living wage in UK local government Mathew JohnsonAlliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK Abstract Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of living wages on organisational pay systems. Design/methodology/approach -The research draws on 23 semi-structured interviews with HR managers, trade union representatives, and politicians at four UK local government case study sites. Findings -The findings suggest that living wages can have a positive impact on directly employed workers in cleaning, catering and care services, but the research also finds that the localised adoption of living wages can lead to significant wage compression, resulting in a broad band of "low skill-low wage jobs". Originality/value -The theoretical contribution is twofold. In-line with earlier research the "first-order" effects of living wages are clear: hourly wages for a large number of women in part-time roles increased sharply. However, this is only part of the story as "second-order" effects such as ripples and spill-overs are less extensive than suggested by other studies. This is due to the limited scope for trade unions to restore wage differentials through collective bargaining, the slow progress in extending the living wage to contracted staff, and parallel processes of downsizing and outsourcing.

Trade unions and the real Living Wage: survey evidence from the UK

“…Several findings are apparent in the table, which relate to the question of the relationship between trade unionism and civil regulation. First, the table indicates that senior managers and owners have been the primary force behind the introduction of the Living Wage even where trade unions are present; a finding that echoes those of case studies of the introduction of the Living Wage (Johnson, ; Lopes and Hall, ). Moreover, in LWEs with trade unions, specialist managers in HR and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are also likely to have played an active part in the adoption of the standard, reflecting the fact that both sets of actors tend to be found in larger organisations with more formal, differentiated structures of management.…”

“…A number of insightful case studies of Living Wage campaigns have been published in recent years, which focus on a single or a small number of organisations that have adopted the Living Wage, often as a result of trade union pressure (Johnson, ; Lopes and Hall, ; Prowse and Fells, , ). The research reported hereafter adopted a different, though complementary approach, centrepiece of which was a population survey of all accredited LWEs carried out in late 2016.…”

“…A number of the published case studies of the introduction of the Living Wage referenced earlier deal largely though not exclusively with non‐accredited organisations of this type (e.g. Johnson, ; Prowse and Fells, ). Our reasons for focusing on accredited organisations are partly pragmatic: the database and survey of employers have been assembled with the cooperation of LWF, the accrediting body for the Living Wage.…”

“…The pattern of evidence here suggests that where unions are relatively well established they have been better able to shape civil regulation. It should also be noted that UNISON and the GMB, two of the major public sector unions, have been strong supporters of the Living Wage and that the association of union influence with the public sector may partly reflect supportive union policy (Johnson, ; Prowse and Fells, ).…”

Low pay and the living wage: an international perspective

“…Building on Tattersall's (2005) typology of union-community engagement they highlight the strategic nature of effective campaigning. For its part Johnson (2017) evaluates the implications of the "real" LW as an annual pay rise for lower paid workers in four English local authorities. His findings highlight its positive impact on lower paid workers and the consequent compression of wage differentials.…”