Greens call for end to in-work poverty

The Scottish Green Party will today highlight how its plans for a £10 per hour minimum wage would lift the salary of Scotland’s lowest paid workers from £12,500 to over £19,000.

The call for a £10 minimum wage, to be introduced by 2020, follows analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, indicating that single working-age people must now earn more than £17,100 for an adequate standard of living, including food and transport.

Patrick Harvie will appear alongside candidate Zara Kitson at a Living Wage employer in Glasgow today, to highlight the issue of in-work poverty.

Harvie is expected to say: “We're a wealthy nation and it's unacceptable that so many workers still struggle to make ends meet. Rather than allow big firms to pay poverty wages and expecting the state to top them up through the benefits system, we should start raising the Minimum Wage to a meaningful level to match the cost of living.

“Many firms already pay the Living Wage and we need to build on that. Small businesses deserve support and other Scottish Green policies to streamline regulation and tackle business rates would help level the playing field.”