The Living Wage Foundation has launched a Global Living Wage (GLW) Affiliate Network , with two members, Living Wage for US and the Living Wage Movement Aotearoa New Zealand . We can now offer multi-country accreditation and are excited to support employers on this. We look forward to growing the GLW Affiliate Network to include an increasing number of Living Wage accreditation bodies being established around the world.
What is the problem we want to address?
The diversity of economic conditions around the world means that it is not practical to think in terms of setting one fixed benchmark of pay or one fixed approach at global level. Multinational employers have highlighted the challenges of finding partners that can offer a credible approach to help them meet their Living Wage commitments across global operations with some holding back on accrediting their UK-based organisations until they have a consistent approach in the other countries in which they operate
The Living Wage Foundation is collaborating with movements in the US and New Zealand, as well as other countries to build a Global Living Wage Affiliate network of national accreditation bodies that together can provide multi-country accreditation. Members of the network demonstrate that they have shared values and common principles around the calculation and provision of Living Wages. This gives employers confidence that the Living Wage rates used by Affiliates constitute a real Living Wage and have undergone rigorous assessment to ensure credibility.
By creating alignment in a range of areas while maintaining local specificity, we can now encourage and make it easier for leading multinational employers take a truly global position on paying a real Living Wage to all their directly employed and contracted staff
Living Wage For US
Living Wage For US is a non-profit organisation launched in 2021 with the mission to overcome the barriers and create incentives to enable employers to pay Living Wages, affording a decent quality of life for working families.
For US accredits U.S. employers that pay their workers and contractors a Living Wage based on real costs of living. Like the Living Wage Foundation, they create a community to support employers in understanding how to pay Living Wages in a way that benefits workers, employers, and communities.
They engage consumers and other interested stakeholders through social media, telling the positive stories of those whose lives are affected by higher wages and building the business case for Living Wage payment. The For US accreditation standard was developed through a consultative process convened by Oxfam America, which included unions, labour advocates, leading employers, and gender justice organisations.
Why the US?
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Wages in the United States are profoundly out of line with the basic needs of working families. Over half of Americans are paid less than a Living Wage.
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Employers are recognising the need to support resilience in their workforces, to better attract and retain workers, raise employee morale and report positive impact.
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Previously, no national platform existed to recruit, convene, verify and celebrate employers paying a Living Wage, or to help bring these practices into the mainstream of US business norms, leaving employers, policy makers, and advocates to apply siloed and sometimes contradictory approaches that fail to bring impact at scale.
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Living Wage for US now provide clear and consistent Living Wage estimates that account for true costs of living in different parts of the country, guidance on how to implement these within different business models, and a consistent system for recognition and accountability.
Find out more about Living Wage for US
Living Wage Movement Aotearoa New Zealand
The Living Wage Movement Aotearoa New Zealand began in May 2012. The Living Wage emerged as a response to growing poverty and inequality that continues to hold back so many workers, their families and our economy.
Since 2012, over 360 businesses have become accredited as Living Wage Employers. The Movement has sustained a community membership of about 80 union, faith and community organisations on average.
The Movement has successfully ensured the words “Living Wage” have entered the lexicon of New Zealand culture as the new standard for decent wages and as a political demand in elections for public office. The Living Wage has in a very real way impacted on the debate about the Minimum Wage and, arguably, the level at which it is now set.
Why New Zealand?
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New Zealand is currently ranked 23rd out of 35 countries on the OECD’s income inequality ranking and half of the children in households in material hardship come from households with working parents1.
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Since the movement’s inception, the gap between the Minimum Wage and the Living Wage in New Zealand has shrunk from a 30% gap to under 15% demonstrating the influence of the campaign.