Camborne Town Council has unanimously agreed to pay the ‘living wage’ to employees.

The living wage is an hourly rate independently set by the Living Wage Foundation and Centre for Social Policy Research at Loughborough University. It is currently an amount of £7.65 an hour, outside London and is set according to the basic cost of living.

It is updated annually and is aimed at addressing the complex causes of poverty. It is a voluntary initiative that employers choose to adopt.

The increase will be in place from 1st April 2015 following the decision at a meeting held on June 12. 

Councillor Robert Webber, who put forward the motion, said: “The living wage is a vital principle which needs promoting right across Cornwall and the UK generally. If basic wages do not reflect basic living costs then low paid workers will live permanently in relative poverty. I am pleased that Camborne Town Council unanimously supported the principles of the living wage as a clear statement of the values as an employer we wish to promote.”

Camborne Town Council is a small employer with a maximum of three full time and two part time employees in the summer months. Councillors fully considered the potential cost to the council when making their decision; at current wage and staffing levels it was calculated that adopting the living wage would represent an increase of less than one per cent of the council’s total salary costs.