Northumbria PCC Vera Baird, announced as the winner of the North East Living Wage Leadership Award 2015
2nd November 2015
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Vera Baird, has been chosen as the winner of the Living Wage Leadership Award 2015 for the North East region.
The Living Wage Foundation organise these awards to recognise the life changing impact individuals have made by leading the way on the Living Wage Campaign within communities.
The awards are part of Living Wage Week 2015, a national celebration of responsible pay for everybody, running from 1st – 7th November.
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Vera Baird, said: “In the current economic climate it is imperative that we do everything we can to help lower paid workers as they face rising living costs. That is why I made it one of my commitments when elected to ensure we pay the Living Wage and we achieved this by bringing the cleaning contract back “in house” so we could pay them the Living Wage.
“I have always been a strong advocate of the Living Wage and will continue to be, I’m proud to be a champion of this initiative and I am delighted to receive this award.”
The Living Wage Foundation wants to celebrate the huge and diverse group of people who support the Living Wage Campaign.
Beth Farhat, Regional Secretary for the Northern TUC said: “Congratulations to Vera and well deserved too, one of Vera’s first commitments as police and crime commissioner was make sure that the lowest paid in her workforce received the living wage, making a real difference to the quality and wellbeing of peoples lives. Thank you very much for championing the Living Wage.”
Living Wage Foundation Acting Director, Sarah Vero, said: “Congratulations to Vera on being named the Leadership Award winner for the North East region. The voices of people are at the heart of our organisation, and it is wonderful to have Vera leading the way in her region. We want to celebrate the individuals making a real difference to families and communities across the UK. Thank you very much for celebrating the Living Wage.”
The Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually. The Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living using the ‘Minimum Income Standard’ for the UK. Decisions about what to include in this standard are set by the public; it is a social consensus about what people need to make ends meet.
Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis. The Living Wage enjoys cross party support.
One Leadership Award winner has been named in each region of the UK: Scotland; Wales; Northern Ireland; the East Midlands; the West Midlands; the East of England; Yorkshire and the Humber; North East England; North West England; South East England; South West England; and London.
The awards judged by an independent panel of community leaders from Citizens UK, national community organising charity and home of the Living Wage campaign.
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