Capital has labour’s back, apparently. Investors with assets of £3.8tn between them, including Legal & General and Nest, want J Sainsbury to pay workers a “real living wage”. Shareholders will vote on the demand, currently for £11.05 per hour in London and £9.90 outside it, at the UK supermarket chain’s annual meeting.
The moral case for increasing hourly pay during a cost of living crisis is clear. ShareAction, the body leading the campaign, counts Christian Aid and CAFOD among its members.
The business case is less obvious. The UK, like much of the rich world, sets minimum wages (confusingly called, for those aged 23 and over, the “national living wage”). This is currently £9.50 an hour. The UK wants to lift this to the equivalent of two-thirds of the median wage come 2024.