London Living Wage for ISS Employees on City of London Contract

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23 October 2013 | Updated 01 January 1970

The City of London Corporation has agreed to supplement ten exisiting corporate cleaning and catering services contracts to bring them in line with the London Living Wage (LLW).

The agreement will cover cleaners and catering employees at iconic sites including the Central Criminal Court, Barbican, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, City of London Police, Guildhall and also various schools.

The changes to the five revised cleaning contracts, delivered by ISS, Sodexo and Mitie, will come into effect immediately after elected members decided to adopt the LLW ahead of the scheduled renewal date in August 2014. The extra annual cost of implementing the LLW across them is in the order of £812,000.

Separately, five catering contracts, delivered by ISS, Sodexo, Aramark, Holroydhowe and Brookwood, will be revised in line with the LLW and backdated to 1 September 2013 – the date they originally commenced .This will come at an additional cost of £117,700 per annum.

Since 2011, ISS have delivered cleaning services to 49 City of London sites, and since 2009 have also delivered catering services in ‘The Guild’ staff restaurant in the Guildhall.

Richard Sykes, Chief Executive Officer of ISS UK and Ireland, commented: “In line with our commitment to the Living Wage concept, we have actively worked with the City of London to bring about the change and recently retained the Catering contract following a tender process which included a London Living Wage proposal. In fact, it is now ISS policy to encourage customers and suppliers to consider adopting the approach, and we aim to include a Living Wage option in all new tender submissions.

”To underline our support for the scheme, we have signed a Living Wage Contractor Accreditation contract with the Living Wage Foundation.”

Mark Boleat, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation, said: “As a Best Value Authority, we are continuously striving to improve the way we procure goods or services. The City of London Corporation is committed to paying the LLW to staff and promoting it for contractors while delivering quality services across the Square Mile. We recognise that social value – as well as finance – should be a consideration when it comes to such arrangements and supplementing both these cleaning and catering contracts is a positive step forward.”

Roger Chadwick, Chairman of City of London Corporation’s Finance Committee, which approved the changes, added: “We value our contractors and believe that the additional cost of LLW in these cases is outweighed by the demonstrable benefits in terms of staff morale, recruitment and retention. The City of London Corporation will continue to consider the LLW on a case-by-case basis and adopt it where appropriate.”

The City of London Corporation pays all staff in line with LLW, while taking account – like other organisations adopting the LLW – of the legal, financial and operational circumstances that apply when considering contracts on a case-by-case basis. The LLW hourly rate currently stands at £8.55, compared to the current minimum wage of £6.31.

Article written by Brian Shillibeer | Published 23 October 2013

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