THIS summer low-paid staff in schools across Cheshire West and Chester will be playing the “Living Wage Lottery”.

That is where staff wait to see if their school governors, or the company they work for – usually Edsential – decide to pay them the Living Wage.

Some will be lucky with governors following council advice and paying at least £8.25 per hour from April 1, 2016.

Others will not be lucky.

For the local Trades Union Council (TUC), supported by GMB and Unite, this “lottery” is unacceptable.

Staff affected include hundreds of cleaning, catering, clerical and care-taking staff, school technicians and midday assistants, ie staff paid below the top of Grade 3 (scp 12).

This lottery arises because the council has told community schools and council companies that it is down to them whether they follow the council and pay the new £8.25p minimum.

Having promised to implement the Living Wage, and to press other employers to do the same, the local TUC feel this approach from the Labour council is inadequate.

They also believe that written guidance from the council seriously understates the legal obligation on community schools – where staff are actually council employees – to pay rates equal to the council.

Academies and church aided schools are only morally obliged to follow the council’s example.

Last December around 600 school support staff who would have benefited from the Living Wage were outsourced by the Labour council to Edsential, a company jointly owned by CWAC and by Wirral Council.

No provision was made for these staff to be paid the Living Wage – even though Wirral staff are all paid at least that rate.

The local TUC calls on the council to ensure all these staff get the Living Wage back-dated to April 1, 2016.

Find out about the West Cheshire Living Wage Campaign on Facebook. Or e-mail ray.mchale@ btopenworld.com Ray McHale West Cheshire TUC