SCOTTISH employers that pay a Scottish Living Wage should be publicly recognised, according to the Scottish Youth Parliament.
The young people’s organisation has launched a petition calling for the government to create a scheme which would make it clear to the public and potential employees which organisations pay the living wage.
The Living Wage is currently £7.45 an hour, £1.26 an hour more than the national minimum wage of £6.19.
Many public sector employers, including the Scottish Government, the NHS and local councils have committed to pay all staff the Living Wage, which increases in line with inflation each year.
The scheme would involve employers with staff based in Scotland signing a legally-binding declaration to pay all employees the Scottish Living Wage.
Andrew McGowan MSYP, said: “Over the last year we have seen the Scottish Government and Local Authorities work together to implement a Scottish Living Wage for thousands of low paid workers in Scotland. That’s good news, but it’s not enough. There are still tens of thousands of low-paid workers in the private sector.
“That’s why the Scottish Youth Parliament is calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to implement a Scottish Living Wage Recognition Scheme. We believe this scheme would provide an incentive to encourage good employers to adopt a Living Wage, provide a robust test to ensure employers really do pay these rates, and allow consumers to differentiate between employers who pay a fair wage and those who do not.
SYP’s One Fair Wage campaign aims to get employers signed up to the Scottish Living Wage.
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