Francesca Massey with Dave Prentis.
(02/10/12) “Keep pushing for the living wage,” was Francesca Massey’s message to the Labour Party, after taking to the conference stage in Manchester to tell her story.
UNISON member Ms Massey was one of the cleaners at The Manchester College who successfully campaigned for a living wage.
“It’s made it easier as a family,” she told delegates, of the impact that the living wage has had on her family life.
“When you get home from work you can relax – not worry about robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
Ms Massey’s children are both keen basketball players who, before she received the living wage, had to take it in turns to play.
“One week one would play and the other had to watch. Since we’ve had the pay rise they can both play together.”
She was followed in the debate by UNISON’s Sarah Brown, who spoke out as a low-paid worker. “The living wage doesn’t provide luxury,” she said, “it provides the essentials – what we need to survive.”
Ms Brown called on Labour to “go further and demand that the minimum wage becomes a living wage.”
Both women were speaking in a debate chaired by the MP Rachel Reeves, who praised UNISON’s work championing the living wage.