The living wage in the UK – an analysis of the GMB campaign in local government

ABSTRACT

The adoption of a statutory national minimum wage policy in the UK is proving ineffective in resolving the problem of low pay. The emergence of living wage campaigns in the UK follows similar developments in the USA, and more recently, New Zealand. Rather than focus on a particular employer-specific campaign, this paper explores the campaign of the General and Municipal Boilermakers Union (GMB) in local government which recruits members from low-paid occupations. The 11 local government sector cases examine contracted workers allied to local government services, drawing on interviews with full-time officers, lay representatives and members involved in the campaigns. Nine campaigns were successful and two were not. The Union’s strategy revealed an interplay between industrial and political influences and, despite the social-economic nature of the issue, the limited extent of involvement of social movements in the campaign.

KEYWORDS:

• Government
• living wage
• local government
• low pay
• national minimum wage
• unions

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the constructive comments by the two reviewers for this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Peter Prowse

Peter Prowse is a Professor in Human Resource Management and Employee Relations at Sheffield Business School, Sheffield Hallam University. His research interests are the living wage, work-life balance and the management of negotiation in employment relations.

Ray Fells

Ray Fells Building on his experience as an ACAS conciliator, Ray Fells’ research and teaching has focused on the resolution of workplace issues through negotiation and mediation. He has published extensively in Australia and overseas, including Effective Negotiation, Cambridge University Press (2012, 2nd edition).