- Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will give her support for the Living Wage movement in the North East in words to the Living Wage Foundation’s Champion Awards being held in Newcastle on 3rd July.
- The North East has the highest rate of low pay in Great Britain, but the Living Wage movement is gaining momentum in the region.
- There are now nearly 400 accredited Living Wage Employers in the North East and 110,000 employees work at these organisations.
- 11,000 workers in the North East receive cost of living pay rises every year thanks to the commitment of Living Wage Employers in the region.
- There are now five times as many Living Wage Employers in the North East than there were in 2020.
- The Living Wage Foundation’s Living Wage Champion Awards are being held in Newcastle for the first time ever, in recognition of the strength and growth of the movement in the region.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves will give her support to the real Living Wage movement in the North East in a video message to the Living Wage Foundation’s Living Wage Champion Awards being held in Newcastle on the evening of 3rd July.
Leader of Newcastle Council and Cabinet Member at the North East Combined Authority for a Growing and Vibrant Economy, Karen Kilgour, will also be speaking at the event in support of the real Living Wage movement in the North East.
Despite the North East having the highest rate of low pay in Great Britain, with 1 in 5 jobs, or 189,000, paid below the real Living Wage, the Living Wage movement is gaining momentum in the region. There are now nearly 400 accredited Living Wage Employers (386) in the North East, five times as many as there were in 2020. The Living Wage movement is also growing at record pace across the UK, with now over 16,000 accredited real Living Wage Employers, over three times as many as there were in 2020. 110,000 North East workers are employed at Living Wage Employers in the region and 11,000 receive vital cost of living pay rises every year thanks to the commitment of these organisations to decent pay.
Recent research by Cardiff Business School found that if just a quarter of low paid jobs in the North East were given a pay rise to the real Living Wage, it would put up to £40 million back into the local economy.
Living Wage Employers in the region include Newcastle United FC, Newcastle Council, Town Mouse Ale House, Meat:Stack, Tyneside Cinema, Climb Newcastle and APM Cleaning and Repair Ltd.
Both Sunderland and Newcastle have been recognised for their commitment to becoming Living Wage Cities, with plans in place to significantly increase the number of accredited Living Wage Employers in their respective areas. Making Sunderland a Living Wage City launched in 2022, followed by Making Newcastle a Living Wage City in 2024.
In recognition of the strength and growth of the Living Wage movement in the North East, the Living Wage Champion Awards are being held in Newcastle for the first time ever. The Living Wage Champion Awards are the Living Wage Foundation’s annual celebration of individuals and organisations that have made an outstanding contribution to the real Living Wage movement.
The awards are being held on the evening of July 3rd at the Great North Museum: Hancock – a Living Wage Employer, with other North East Employers in line for awards.
Ahead of the awards ceremony, Rachel Reeves said: “Our number one mission is to put more money into the pockets of working people and our increase to the National Living Wage is giving a £1,400 a year boost to some of the lowest paid workers. I’m pleased to see more employers in the North East signing up to fair pay as we progress on our promise to invest in Britain’s renewal to make people better off.”
Katherine Chapman, Director of the Living Wage Foundation, said: “We are delighted to have the support of the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the real Living Wage and the Living Wage movement. Here in the North East, despite having the highest levels of low pay in Great Britain, the Living Wage movement is gaining momentum. There are now nearly 400 accredited Living Wage Employers taking a stand against low pay in the region, five times as many as there were five years ago. We're recognising that strength and growth by holding this year's Living Wage Champion Awards in Newcastle.
The Living Wage Champion Awards celebrate the individuals and organisations who have made an outstanding contribution to the Living Wage movement. Thanks to their campaigning and advocacy, there are now over 16,000 accredited Living Wage Employers delivering vital cost of living pay rises to nearly half a million workers across the UK every year. Over 200 Living Hours Employers and more than 70 Living Pension Employers are raising the bar even further to ensure all their workers have security and dignity today and tomorrow. Together the Living Wage movement has put £3.85 billion back into the pockets of low paid workers since the campaign began.”
Councillor Karen Kilgour, Leader of Newcastle Council and Cabinet Member at the North East Combined Authority for a Growing and Vibrant Economy, who will be speaking at the award ceremony, said: “It’s a real honour to host the Real Living Wage Awards here in Newcastle — a city rooted in community, fairness, and pride in our people. We’re especially proud to see local champions Newcastle Building Society being nominated for an award, recognising their leadership in paying the Real Living Wage, being the first business in the city to sign up to the Real Living Pensions initiative, and setting a powerful example of how business can be a force for good. We are thrilled that Newcastle is a Real Living Wage City and the North East Combined Authority is committed to making the whole of the North East a Living Wage region. We want to see more and more businesses joining up. It not only makes good economic sense but it’s the right thing to do.”
Beth Veitch, Executive Coordinator. at Tyneside Cinema, said: "We pay the living wage because fundamentally it's the right thing to do, as the minimum wage isn't keeping up with inflation."
Hannah Ross, Head of Marketing and Engagement at Tyneside Cinema, said: "It's especially important to us in the North East, where wages are typically lower, that we provide a real Living Wage. It's fair to our staff who work incredibly hard to keep The Tyneside alive and who go above and beyond because they genuinely care about the place."
Gayle Purves, who works at Citizens Advice Newcastle and is paid the real Living Wage, said: "Working for the Government's minimum wage meant that I was having to do overtime to make sure I had enough money to pay my essential bills. Working extra shifts meant missing out on time with family and friends. Working beyond the 37 hours a week was tiring and stressful and I wasn't the only one pursuing the overtime as my colleagues were also paid a low wage."
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Photos
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Photo Credit: Living Wage Foundation
Caption: The Living Wage Foundation and local employers celebrate Making Newcastle a Living Wage City
About the Living Wage Champion Awards:
The Living Wage Champion Awards celebrate the individuals and organisations who have made an outstanding contribution to the Living Wage movement. The awards recognise the efforts of those across different sectors - from Health and Social care to Hospitality, and from those championing the Living Wage in their local areas to national businesses – it celebrates the people across the Living Wage network who have created real change and gone above and beyond to champion the Living Wage and grow the movement.
Each year the Living Wage Foundation welcomes hundreds of submissions from its network, announces a shortlist in April, and then announces winners at an awards ceremony in July.
This year’s Living Wage Champion Awards ceremony will be held in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
For more information on the Living Wage Champion Awards, visit: Living Wage Champion Awards 2025 | Living Wage Foundation