1.3.23 

Forty more Cardiff organisations have become accredited Living Wage employers in the past year.

As the nation celebrates its patron saint today, the Council isagain taking the opportunity to say a big thank you to all the businesses and employers working to make Cardiff a Living Wage City.

At a time when cost of living pressures are causing serious concerns for thousands in the city, the Council is also calling on organisations not yet accredited to follow St David's advice by doing the little things, and consider what they can do to join the almost 200 organisations helping to make Cardiff a Living Wage City by paying their staff the Real Living Wage.

Leader of Cardiff Council and Chair of the Cardiff Living Wage City Steering Group, Cllr Huw Thomas, said: "We all know that far too many working people in Cardiff are struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living crisis really bites.We want to raise awareness of the real Living Wage, the difference it has made to thousands of people's lives across the city and the organisational benefits it is delivering."

All accredited Living Wage employers in the city are helping to make a real difference but collectively they are making a huge difference. 

Cllr Thomas said: "By November 2025, we want there to be 300 accredited Living Wage employers in Cardiff, up from nearly 200 now, employing 95,000 people of whom 13,900 will have an uplift to the real Living Wage. 

"To achieve these ambitious targets, we will need the support of employers small and large across the city.  We are asking all employers to ‘do the Little things' - this might be finding out more about the real Living Wage in Wales , reading about what it means for employers and workers/ registering interest registering interest in becoming accredited or understanding the support available from Cardiff Council. 

"If you are already an accredited Living Wage employer, it might be telling others of the benefits that you have seen to being an accredited Living Wage employer."

Cardiff became the first Capital City in the UK to be recognised as a Living Wage City in 2019 and led by the Council, Citizens Cymru, Cynnal Cymru, Cardiff University, Cardiff & Vale University Health Board and other Living Wage Champions, huge progress has been made.

Around 68,000 people now work for one of Cardiff's almost 200 accredited Living Wage employers and almost 11,000 of those have had a pay rise to the real Living Wage, the second highest number of uplifts of any UK city just behind Edinburgh. Cardiff University has calculated that since 2012 almost an additional £50 million has gone into the Cardiff economy as a result of these uplifts.

Despite this progress, 13% of households in Cardiff are living in poverty and 24,000 people (11.6% of all jobs) are not paid a real Living Wage. That's why the team behind Making Cardiff a Living Wage City has set new three-year targets, including taking the total number of people uplifted to the real Living Wage to at least 13,900 by November 2025.

For more information about the real Living Wage, visit www.livingwage.wales