Unanimous backing for Green anti-poverty motion BUT deliverers of Lewisham Life magazine may be on poverty wages

Lewisham councillors from all parties last night unanimously backed a Green Party motion aimed at ending the trap of poverty pay in Lewisham.

During the debate at full council the Greens revealed that inequality in the borough is on the rise, with the gap between the best-paid and worst-paid widening between 1997 and 2007.

The motion - supported by the Mayor and his Labour group - called for Sir Steve Bullock to do all he can to ensure that Lewisham and its contractors do not pay any worker less than the London Living Wage.

It called on him to review council policies to make sure tackling poverty and inequality are declared as specific aims of the council so it can more easily demand decent wages for contract workers without falling foul of anti-competition laws.

The London Living Wage, currently £7.20, is calculated by the GLA as the hourly rate someone must earn to avoid falling below the poverty line. The national minimum wage is lower and can still leave people in the poverty trap because of London's higher costs of living.

It emerged during last night's debate that, despite the Mayor's support for the motion, Lewisham Council does not know how much is paid to workers who deliver free council magazine Lewisham Life. It had been assured only that they are paid at least the national minimum wage, which would still leave them below the poverty line of £6.25 per hour.

It was also revealed that the rich-poor divide in the borough has grown over the last decade.

Green councillor Dean Walton obtained figures from the UK Statistics Authority showing that the worst-paid 10% of people working in Lewisham earn less than the London Living Wage.

The figures also showed that last year the best-paid people working in Lewisham for whom figures are available were getting 3.18 times the worst-paid. Yet in 1997 the gap was smaller, at 2.95 times, showing that inequality is sharpening in Lewisham.

Green councillor Ute Michel, who proposed the motion, said:

"With food and fuel bills skyrocketing this issue could not be more urgent for those on the breadline.

It's a slap in the face to the low-paid when they work hard only to find their pay is still too low to fund the basic necessities, and as the largest local employer and contracting out a range of services the council could make a real difference.

The council's own magazine is delivered by workers who we now discover may be on poverty wages, so the Mayor must demonstrate that he takes poverty pay seriously by demanding that council contractors pay a living wage."

Notes to editor

1. Cllr's Michel & Walton can be contacted for more information or comment.
2. The figures for Lewisham's widening rich-poor gap were obtained from the documents attached to this email, covering 1997 and 2007. They refer to the gap between the pay of the lowest 10% with the second highest 10%.
3. The council question and reply on the pay of deliverers of Lewisham Life were as follows:

Q: "How much money are those who deliver Lewisham Life paid per hour?"

A: "The delivery of Lewisham Life is contracted out. Pay rates for deliverers are not, therefore, determined by the council, but our contractors assure us that they pay at least the national minimum wage."