To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, 10 November 2022.

Decision:

That the minutes of the previous meeting, held on Thursday, 10 November 2022, be approved as a correct record.

To hear evidence from relevant guests with experience and expertise on the Living Wage and good work, which will contribute to the Committee’s discussions on the two following reports. 

The Leader of the Council introduced the item and explained that the Council and Manchester had been on a significant journey to become a Real Living Wage Place, which would bring the Real Living Wage together across a range of sectors to ensure all residents and workers in Manchester receive the pay they deserve. There were over 200 Real Living Wage accredited organisations in Manchester, reaching around 65,000 residents, and it could be demonstrated that between 5000 and 6000 people had directly received a pay rise as a result of their employer becoming accredited.

The Leader acknowledged that almost a quarter of Manchester residents earned less than the Real Living Wage and that challenges around poverty in certain areas of the city remained. The Council’s Anti-Poverty Strategy worked to alleviate and support those living in poverty and a well-paid job with good terms and conditions and working standards was highlighted as the easiest way out of poverty.

The committee welcomed and heard from a number of guests from a variety of industries and sectors within Manchester on the Living Wage and the good practice they undertake.

Ross Holden, Research and Policy Officer for GMB trade union, explained that GMB engaged with a range of bodies on minimum wages and the Real Living Wage and that GMB were pursuing a policy for the national minimum wage to be raised to the same rate as the Real Living Wage and that a Foundation Living Wage of £10.90 p.h. be introduced for those sectors in which low pay was particularly prevalent.

He noted that the adoption of the Real Living Wage was influenced by certain factors, including government funding and the emerging economy, but he believed that there were levers in place for the Council to encourage more businesses and organisations to pay the Real Living Wage.

Ross raised points around private social care, where some staff were having to rely on food banks and there were issues around a lack of contractual sick pay and travel time between visits being unpaid. He called on the Council to encourage private social care providers to pay the Real Living Wage, to support GMB’s campaigns and to meet with trade unions to identify how social care can be commissioned differently. He also suggested that the Council commit to involving trade unions in the commissioning process and highlighted GMB’s Ethical Home Care Commissioning Charter, which other local authorities had signed up to.

In response to these suggestions, the Leader stated that the Council would be happy to work towards signing up to the Ethical Home Care Commissioning Charter and that similar work had been undertaken in 2018/19 with Unison to redesign how social care providers were commissioned, abolishing 15-minute visits, not paying people by the minute and ensuring that travel time between visits were paid.

GMB was also working to improve workers rights within platform organisations and asked that the Council, as a majority shareholder, worked with other shareholders at Manchester Airport Group (MAG) to ensure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

Report of the Director of Inclusive Economy.

This report details Manchester Living Wage Action Group’s work to become a Living Wage City, why this is important, and how we intend to continue promoting the real living wage in Manchester.

The committee considered a report of the Director of Inclusive Economy which detailed the Manchester Living Wage Action Group’s work to become a Living Wage City, why this is important, and how it intended to continue promoting the real living wage in Manchester.

Key points and themes within the report included:

·         Manchester announced its intention to become a Living Wage City in September 2021 and was recognised in October 2022;

·         The real living wage is set by the Living Wage Foundation and based on independent advice and was currently set at £10.90 per hour;

·         Becoming a living wage city was important for Manchester as most of the city’s significant problems were linked closely to poverty, and while worklessness and benefit dependency remained the main drivers of poverty in Manchester, there had been an increase in in-work poverty in recent years;

·         The criteria required to become Living Wage accredited;

·         The benefits for both an employer and employee;

·         Manchester was required by the Living Wage Foundation to convene a Living Wage action group to collectively develop a three-year action plan to increase the number of living wage employers in the city and to be made up of a range of accredited organisations, including anchor institutions, SME employers and the third sector;

·         The role of the action group and the action plan;

·         The targets and actions for the Action Group; and

·         Next steps of Manchester’s Living Wage journey, including handing responsibility to the Work and Skills team for delivery.

The key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussions included:

·         If the Council had experienced any difficulties in engaging with employers due to current financial difficulties, and whether this was difficult for specific sectors;

·         Noting that voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE) was not typically a high-paid industry;

·         Noting a recruitment and retention crisis within employment;

·         If the Council was doing all it could within its licensing and planning policies to promote the Real Living Wage; and

·         How the Council could promote the Real Living Wage through the commissioning procedure.

The Director of Inclusive Economy acknowledged that the impact of current financial uncertainties on employer engagement with the Real Living Wage. She explained that big anchor institutions were key and the Council had asked them to encourage other employers within their sectors and spheres of influence to engage with the Living Wage Foundation.

Some challenges were noted, such as the Living Wage Foundation only recognising the headquarters of a business which caused some issues if the Manchester office of an organisation wanted to become accredited.

The Director of Inclusive Economy also explained that the Council would continue to present a video on the Real Living Wage, which members had watched earlier in the meeting, and use the levers it had to further encourage other employers to become accredited.

The Director of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter also advised the Committee that his organisation had surveyed members of Charter after the announcement of the increase in the Real Living Wage, and members  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

Report of the Director of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter

This report provides an update on the work undertaken to create the Charter Implementation Unit and delivery mechanisms, how the Charter has been delivered and its impacts, and reflects upon the challenges the changing nature of work and the growth of the good employment moving in the current socio-economic climate, moving from the COVID-19 pandemic through to the current cost of living crisis.

The committee considered a report of the Director of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter which provided an update on the work undertaken to create the Charter Implementation Unit and delivery mechanisms, how the Charter had been delivered and its impacts, and reflected upon the challenges of the changing nature of work and the growth of the good employment moving in the current socio-economic climate, moving from the COVID-19 pandemic through to the current cost of living crisis.

Key points and themes within the report included:

·         The Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter’s role as a key partner for Manchester’s Real Living Wage Campaign, Our Manchester Business Forum and the Work and Skills Team in improving good employment practice across the city;

·         How the Charter would continue to create a good employment ‘movement’ in Greater Manchester;

·         How the Charter would continue to work with its partners to deepen the pool of supporting resource and provide a platform for the Good Employment community to spread and support good practice;

·         How the Charter would work with partners to develop innovative approaches to good employment practice and to continually evolve and develop new solutions;

·         The characteristics of good employment;

·         Since its inception in early 2020, the Charter had grown to reach around 1,300 employers, including over 450 supporters and 76 full members, covering in excess of 400,000 employees; and

·         Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) evaluated the first year of the Charter, examining both the motivations and experience of Charter ‘leads’ – those who took their organisation through the process of becoming either a supporter or member – and employees in Charter organisations on their experience of good employment. The findings from the evaluation were broadly positive, with some suggested next steps and recommendations on how to improve reach and impact.

Much of the previous discussions included reference to the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter and the Committee expressed its thanks to the Director of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter for his attendance and contributions.

Decision:

That the report be noted.

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit

This report provides the Committee with details of key decisions that fall within the Committee’s remit and an update on actions resulting from the Committee’s recommendations. The report also includes the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee is asked to amend as appropriate and agree.

The committee considered a report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit which provided details of key decisions within the committee’s remit and its work programme.

Decision:

That the Committee note the report.