Councillors have unanimously agreed on a wage rise for some of the lowest-paid council workers in Inverclyde ahead of schedule.

Members of the local authority’s policy and resources committee approved a proposal to implement a new Living Wage rate of £10.90 per hour with immediate effect at a meeting on Wednesday 16 November 2022.

The rate was previously £10.85 an hour but has increased following a review by the Living Wage Foundation.

As an accredited Living Wage Foundation employer, the council is required to introduce the new rate by May 2023.

Given the current cost of living crisis, the increase has been introduced immediately and is effective from the new pay period which started on 10 November 2022.

Councillor Stephen McCabe, leader of Inverclyde Council and convener of policy and resources, said: “In the current climate with the price of almost everything soaring, every little helps for our hard-working staff and the early implementation of the new Living Wage Foundation will put some extra money in their pockets during these extremely challenging financial times.

“Despite the ongoing squeeze on council budgets, we are committed to paying our staff a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.”

The Living Wage Foundation announced a new Living Wage rate of £10.90 per hour on 22nd September 2022.

Employers are being encouraged to introduce this new rate as soon as possible because of the current cost of living crisis.

This early implementation is for this year only due to exceptional circumstances.

The increase is in addition to the recent agreement of the Scottish Joint Council (SJC) pay award, which saw the bottom grade increased to £10.85 per hour and will be backdated to 1 April 2022.

The new £10.90 hourly rate is effective from 10 November 2022.