Our event on Nov 2nd and new Living Wage rate

Lewes for a Living Wage supporters celebrated Living Wage Week in style at the Town Hall on 2nd November. The Living Wage Foundation sent us banners and bunting which we put up around the building. The new Living Wage rate is £8.25 outside London and £9.40 in the capital.

Jonathan Spencer, CEO of the Bevern Trust, a care home in Barcombe already signed up to the UK-wide scheme, talked about how employees feel more valued for the demanding work they do. The Lewes manager of Barclays Bank, members of the same scheme, said all employees and apprentices get this rate as a minimum, including contracted people such as cleaners. 

The Mayor, Susan Murray, welcomed everyone, and we had contributions from Pauline Grant, a former vice-president of Unison; Debbie Twitchen of Landport Food Bank, Andrew Bird from Silverado, and Adam Wolecki from Lewes FC. Also attending were Sharon Kaye from Sun Rose Care, Chris Rowland from Ovesco and Felicity Carter from Felicity’s Childminding, and councillors Ruth O'Keeffe, Stephen Catlin, Fraser Addecott and Tony Rowell. Councillor Imogen Makepeace is part of the group organising the event. We showed a slide projection of all the Living Wage employers in the area.

We now have stickers for Lewes businesses that have signed up to the Living Wage Foundation or Living Wage Brighton and Hove.

We are also grateful to our volunteer professional photographer Cammie Toloui.

New signers

INVITATION

Skyhouse Eco Chic B&B, NTD Internet, Sun Rose Care and Vandu Language Services, as well as the Town Council, are the latest employers in the Lewes area to sign up to Living Wage Brighton and Hove.

Find out more at our drop-in event in Lewes Town Hall, Yarrow Room, on Monday 2nd November 5-7pm. Our slide presentation will feature employers already paying the Living Wage

The new hourly Living Wage rates will be announced on Monday by the Living Wage Foundation

Event on November 2nd

INVITATION                               

Please come and celebrate the Living Wage and meet employers paying it in the Lewes area. This is your opportunity to learn more about the benefits of the Living Wage to our community. Councillors will be present and we are inviting our local MP. 

Lewes Town Council has already signed up, and several more local employers are joining the Brighton and Hove scheme or the national scheme soon. Many already pay the Living Wage.

We hope to have a slide presentation featuring local employers who pay the Living Wage, which would be running during the event.

Our event is part of the National Living Wage Week 1-7 November.

Monday 2nd November 5pm to 7pm

Yarrow Room, Lewes Town Hall.

Refreshments

Lewes for a Living Wage is a group of individuals and businesses, and the Town Council, who want Lewes to be a Living Wage Town.

Contacts: Linda Lamont 01273 470940, Ann Link 01273 477870 or leweslivingwage@gmail.com 

Cook has Living Wage kitchens and shops

Upmarket frozen food retailer Cook, with a branch in Cliffe High Street, has signed up to the national Living Wage scheme. Read more from the Foundation here

Budget effects

The Budget announced a national living wage, but this is really an increase in the Minimum Wage from £6.50 to £7.20 next April. It would be welcome but cuts in tax credits mean that families could be up to £1,000 worse off next year. The Guardian has a calculator to enable people to work out how they will be affected. See it here

Town Council supports Living Wage

The Town Council met on June 18.
Fraser Addecott, a Green Party Town Councillor, proposed that the Personnel Panel consider:

• The most effective way to enable payment of at least the Living Wage to allTown Council staff
• To ensure contractors engaged by the Town Council confirm they pay all theiremployees at least the Living Wage
• To ensure all organisations which receive a grant from the Town Council pay employees at least the Living Wage

Lewes Town Council resolves to support the Lewes Living Wage campaign in its work to raise awareness of the issues through the wider business community.

Cllr Addecott pointed out that the Living Wage is £7.85 per hour and that currently three members of the Council staff earn less than that.

The proposal was unanimously agreed. The Personnel Panel meets on 14th July

Leaflets

You can see our leaflet on the Join In page - contact us for paper or electronic copies - they are already available around the town

St Anne's Dental Practice in Lewes has joined the Brighton and Hove Living Wage scheme - see http://www.livingwagebrighton.co.uk/employer-directory/st-annes-dental-practice/

We now have a Twitter account, thanks to Will Rogers: https://twitter.com/leweslivingwage

Leaflets at hustings

Lewes for a Living Wage members will be at the Hustings tonight 23rd April 2015 to ask this question of Parliamentary candidates: "What is the policy of your party on the need for a Living Wage and how important is it for you, personally, for Lewes to be a Living Wage town?" Location: King's Church, off Brooks Road, Lewes, adjacent to Home Base at 7.30 p.m
We will have copies of our new leaflet for local employers.