- Conference
- 2023 National Community Conference and Seminar
- Date
- 7 November 2022
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes the publication of the “The All Work and Low Pay” report produced by the Living Wage Foundation in Summer 2022 which identified that one in seven charity workers are paid below the real living wage, a lower rate than across the economy as a whole, despite a higher proportion of charity sector workers being paid the real living wage than at any time in the past five years.
The report found the highest level of low pay in the sector is located in the North and Midlands with 19.4% of workers paid below the real living wage in the North West, 18.8% in the East Midlands, and 17.8% in the West Midlands and that 14.1% of jobs in the third sector pay below the real living wage, (which recommends that workers are paid £9.90 an hour across the UK or £11.05 in London).
Additional findings also included that certain ethnic groups, such as Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Black African, Black Caribbean and Black British groups are more likely to earn below the real living wage in the sector and of all low-paid jobs in the sector, 71.3% are held by women. Women are more likely to work in the sector, and more likely to be low-paid within it.
These findings illustrate what members in Community already know: that the pay differentials between our members and charity sector leaders is often large and that we need a real living wage too.
Conference welcomes the creation a new activist position called ‘pay campaign contact’ who will receive information of UNISON’s pay campaigns and distribute it locally to members and non-members.
This network of contacts will hopefully increase the visibility of these campaigns, as well as recruit and build workplace organisation around the issues, help to strengthen the union, get the vote out in future ballots or consultations, and maximise the organising and recruitment potential in UNISON’s pay campaigns.
Conference believes that this function can play a pivotal role in helping Community members understand the need to put pay at the centre of our organising, recruitment and retention agendas and that charity sector employers that can afford to do so should commit to pay a real Living Wage and for funders to provide enough to support real living wage jobs through their grant-making processes.
Conference therefore calls on the Community Service Group Executive to:
a) Continue to keep pay central to its national bargaining agenda by highlighting pay disparity across our nations/regions.
b) Identify key pay and funding campaigning issues within the sector and take them forward.
c) Highlight the effects of low pay in our sectors and the impact this is having on the recruitment and retention of women, young workers and workers with protected characteristics under the Equality Act.
d) Work with Learning and Organising services to promote the role and function of pay campaign contacts throughout the Community Service Group.
e) Work with UNISON Labour Link, the National Executive Council and other stakeholders including lobbying political parties in positions of power and influence in Scotland, Cymru/Wales and Northern Ireland to highlight the issues of appropriate levels of funding, sectoral pay and the impact this has on the survival of the charity sector, Community members and the services we provide.