PRESSURE is growing for councils to adopt the Living Wage, after it emerged no North-East authority has yet done so.

Yesterday (Wednesday, November 19), Durham County Council, the biggest in the North-East, announced plans to adopt a “local living wage” of £7.43 an hour from January 1, a move which could benefit up to 2,500 of the lowest paid workers, including cleaners, catering staff and lollipop men and women.

However, that is 42p an hour below the standard Living Wage rate of £7.85 for the UK outside London, where there is a higher rate of £9.15.

The national minimum wage is currently £6.50.

Unions and campaigners are demanding Labour-led councils set an example to the region’s other employers by adopting the full Living Wage.

Sunderland has committed to becoming a Living Wage employer by April.

However, several local authorities, all of which are facing ongoing tough budget cuts, have backed a lower, so-called local living wage, at varying levels.

Last year, Hartlepool agreed a minimum rate of £7.26, which benefitted 639 workers and cost the council £150,000.

Scarborough set its rate at £7.45, Newcastle went higher at £7.75, while South Tyneside will implement a £7.11 minimum from April.

Craven, Selby and Ryedale councils, all in North Yorkshire, all said they had no plans to introduce a living wage.

Other councils have not responded to The Northern Echo’s request for comment.

There is pressure for the London Living Wage to be made compulsory, although Conservatives say that would cost the capital’s employers £600m.

Last week, members of the trade unions Unison, Unite and the GMB voted to accept a two-year pay deal worth an average of 2.2 per cent, and up to 9.6 per cent for the lowest paid, averting the prospect of 1.5 million local government workers taking strike action.

Unions had rejected a one per cent pay offer from the Local Government Association (LGA) leading to strikes in July and further walkouts were planned.

The deal will cost councils £357m – as much as was saved through efficiencies and shared services in 2014, according to an LGA report.