In the week Boris announces fares hikes, he makes up for it by announcing a new London Living Wage, of £8.55 p/h.
The London Living Wage is currently £8.30 p/h. The figure is based on an estimate of living costs and exceeds the minimum wage of £6.19 p/h.
Boris might gain superficial kudos for this flash announcement. But in reality, the workers in his employment know that they will have to struggle for every penny. London Underground cleaners had to strike and sacrifice precious pay in order to win the London Living Wage in 2008. Even then, it took years before London Underground's contractors coughed up, and Boris applied no pressure to comply. Every time the LLW figure has increased, unions have had to drag cleaning companies to keep pace.
At the moment, cleaners on the Docklands Light Railway are following a program of strikes and protests to earn the LLW. Boris has said he'll adopt the LLW when the current cleaning contract expires. Not good enough or soon enough!
To Boris, the LLW is no more than media kudos. As always, it's up to workers in struggle to fight for every morsel. We get nothing for free from the class that exploits us.
