Contractors who do regular work with the States of Jersey will be asked to pay their staff the Living Wage.
The call was made by the Chief Minister, Senator Ian Gorst, who said the government itself already paid the rate, which is above the legally enforceable minimum wage.
At the moment Jersey’s minimum wage of £7.18 an hour, and is due to go up to £7.50 from April. But the Living Wage, which has been determined by the body Caritas Jersey, is currently set at £9.75 an hour.
That’s the amount the group says somebody needs to earn to afford a basic standard of living in the island.
Senator Gorst said: “Ministers have decided the States of Jersey should lead the way as a good employer by adopting the Living Wage set by Caritas. Our staff are already paid at least the living wage, but we will now ask our contractors to do the same for those who work regularly on our premises.”
Details of how that call will be enforced, and precisely which contractors will or won’t be included are yet to be confirmed.
Last year just four companies in the island had signed up to the Living Wage pledge following a publicity campaign.
