Ten SIC councillors sign ‘one fair wage’ pledge

Several SIC councillors have pledged their support to the Scottish Youth Parliament’s “one fair wage” campaign.

Political leader Gary Robinson, convener Malcolm Bell and councillors Mark Burgess, Peter Campbell, Gary Cleaver, Billy Fox, Drew Ratter, Cecil Smith, George Smith and Vaila Wishart have signed the pledge board to date.

The youth parliament believes everyone deserves to be paid enough money to live on and, through their campaign, is aiming to encourage as many MSPs, businesses, councils and organisations to give their backing.

Campaigners for a living wage say the national minimum wage is not enough to live on, with people having to take two or three full-time jobs to make ends meet. The Scottish living wage is currently £7.20 per hour, considerably higher than the national minimum wage of £6.19 an hour for those aged 21+, £4.98 for 18-20 year olds and £3.68 for 16-17 year olds.

Shetland member of the Scottish Youth Parliament Nicole Mouat said gaining the support of individual councillors was “really important” for the cause.

“It is a huge issue for young people in particular, as they move away from home and try to stand on their own two feet. A living wage is a step towards them achieving this,” she said.

“The support that we have had so far has been excellent. I am looking forward to hopefully working further with the council on this campaign in the coming months.”

Mr Robinson said: “We were the first local authority in Scotland to meet the terms of the fair wage scheme and I would encourage other businesses and organisations to follow suit.”