Welsh Government blasted for paying cafe staff £6.85 – while backing living wage of £7.80
LABOUR leaders in the Welsh Government have been blasted after it was found that their own cafe workers are paid just £6.85 – well below the £7.80 recommended by their own Living Wage campaign.
A job advert for baristas to work in their coffee shop said it was looking for "engaging, sparkling" workers who are "passionate about coffee".
Pay is advertised as £6.85 per hour – only just above the minimum wage of £6.50.
The Labour-led Government has been accused of double standards over the advert since it publicly committed itself to a campaign for the Living Wage in the public, private and third sectors, earlier this year.
Plaid Cymru's local government spokesman Rhodri Glyn Thomas said: "Welsh Government Ministers talked only this month about their support for the Living Wage of £7.80 an hour.
"But then it allows its office caterers, Compass, to pay employees below the living wage, condemning them to a rate of just above the National Minimum Wage of £6.50 an hour.
"If the Welsh Government truly wants to help the low paid then it should set an example in its own offices - otherwise it makes a mockery of its own public statements." T
We continue to encourage all businesses in Wales to consider becoming Living Wage employers
The National Assembly for Wales has been accredited as a Living Wage employer after introducing it for anyone employed on the Assembly's estate.
A spokesman for the Permanent Secretary Derek Jones - who is responsible for Welsh Government staffing matters - said the cafe is run by private catering company Compass Group at their HQ in Cathays Park, Cardiff.
He said: "The Welsh Government meets the Living Wage criteria as an employer and supports the concept of a Living Wage as a route to addressing some of the issues associated with low pay and income poverty.
"While the pay and conditions relating to this specific contract are a matter for the private company involved, we continue to encourage all businesses in Wales to consider becoming Living Wage employers."
