Table Of Contenti
The Living Wage
As wealth inequality skyrockets and trade union power declines, the living wage movement
has become ever more urgent for public policymakers, academics, and – most import-
antly – those workers whose wages hover close to the breadline. A real living wage in any
part of the world is rarely its minimum wage: it is the minimum income needed to cover
living costs and participate fully in society. Most governments’ minimum wages are still
falling short, meaning millions of workers struggle to cover their living costs.
This book brings new, vital insights to the conversation from a carefully selected group
of contributors at the forefront of this field. By juxtaposing advances across sectors and
countries, and encompassing many different approaches and indeed definitions of the
living wage, Dobbins and Prowse offer a rich tapestry of approaches that may inform
public policy.
By including the experiences and voices of those workers earning at, or near, the living
wage alongside the opinions of leading experts in this field, this book is a pioneering con-
tribution for public policymakers as well as students and academics of work and employ-
ment relations, public policy, organizational studies, social economics, and politics.
Tony Dobbins is Professor of Work and Employment Relations at the University of
Birmingham, UK. He is Visiting Professor at the University of Limerick, Ireland; the
Centre for Labour Studies at the University of Malta; and president of the British
Universities Industrial Relations Association. His research interests include the living
wage and decent work.
Peter Prowse is Professor in Human Resource Management and Employment Relations
at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. His research interests include the living wage in care
homes and football clubs, negotiating, work-l ife balance, and HR performance. He is a
member of collaborative international research groups on the living wage.
ii
iii
The Living Wage
Advancing a Global Movement
Edited by
Tony Dobbins and Peter Prowse
iv
First published 2022
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 selection and editorial matter, Tony Dobbins and Peter Prowse; individual
chapters, the contributors
The right of Tony Dobbins and Peter Prowse to be identified as the authors of the
editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted
in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Dobbins, Tony, editor. | Prowse, Peter, editor.
Title: The living wage : advancing a global movement /
edited by Tony Dobbins and Peter Prowse.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2022. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021014348 (print) | LCCN 2021014349 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780367514907 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367514877 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781003054078 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Minimum wage. | Living wage movement. |
Cost and standard of living. | Working class.
Classification: LCC HD4917 .L578 2022 (print) |
LCC HD4917 (ebook) | DDC 331.2/3–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021014348
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021014349
ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 51490- 7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 51487- 7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978- 1- 003- 05407- 8 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/ 9781003054078
Typeset in Bembo
by Newgen Publishing UK
v
Contents
List of figures and tables vii
List of contributors ix
Acknowledgements xiv
1 Introduction 1
PETER PROWSE AND TONY DOBBINS
PART 1
The living wage in the UK: sector studies 11
2 The Living Wage Foundation’s ‘Real Living Wage’ campaign 13
DANIEL HOWARD
3 The real living wage and ‘the good employer’ in UK football clubs 25
PETER PROWSE AND TONY DOBBINS
4 Outsourcing and the Real Living Wage: evidence from the United
Kingdom 39
EDMUND HEERY, DEBORAH HANN AND DAVID NASH
5 Employer experiences of the living wage in the higher education,
hospitality and construction sectors 52
CALUM CARSON
6 What about care work and in- work poverty? The case of care workers
in the UK 65
JULIE PROWSE, PETER PROWSE AND JEREMÉ SNOOK
7 Making the living wage work in SMEs: evidence from accredited
employers in the UK hospitality sector 79
ANDREA WERNER
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vi Contents
PART 2
The living wage in international comparative contexts 91
8 The living wage and the European Union 93
JOHN HURLEY
9 Wages and working conditions in outsourced services in Europe 107
MATHEW JOHNSON AND KAREN JAEHRLING
10 Are collective bargaining models in the Nordic countries able to secure
a living wage? Experiences from low- wage industries 120
KRISTIN ALSOS AND KRISTINE NERGAARD
11 The living wage, Fight for $15, and low- wage worker campaigns in
the US 135
STEPHANIE LUCE
12 The living wage movement in Canada 146
DANIELLE VAN JAARSVELD, SAMANTHA CORONEL, AND REED EAGLESHAM
13 The belated return of an Australian living wage: reworking ‘a fair
go’ for the 21st century 162
JOSHUA HEALY, ANDREAS PEKAREK, AND RAY FELLS
14 Employer and employee perspectives on the living wage in
New Zealand 178
JAMES ARROWSMITH, JANE PARKER, AMANDA YOUNG-H AUSER,
DARRIN HODGETTS, JARROD HAAR, STUART CARR,
AND SIAUTU ALEFAIO-TUGIA
15 Living wage initiatives in the garment sector: insights from
Southeast Asia 191
MICHELE FORD AND MICHAEL GILLAN
16 Conclusion 206
TONY DOBBINS AND PETER PROWSE
Index 211
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Figures and tables
Figures
8.1 Longer term trend of development of statutory minimum wages relative
to median wages of full- time employed workers 98
8.2 Share of European Union employees earning less than 60 per cent of
median full time hourly pay, percentage by sector (NACE 1d) 100
13.1 Evolution of the real minimum wage in selected OECD countries
($US 2019 PPP) 167
13.2 The relationship between minimum wages and median earnings
by country 168
13.3 Incidence of low pay (less than two-thirds of median earnings),
by country and decade 170
13.4 Median hourly earnings by industry and industry size category in
Australia, 2019 171
Tables
3.1 Direct and indirect employment related to club activities 27
3.2 Respondents of the Luton Town FC study 28
3.3 Pay differences between Luton real living wage (RLW) rates and
national living wage (NLW) hourly comparative rates 2020 30
4.1 The impact of the Living Wage on contracting 43
4.2 Gender composition of occupations benefiting from the Living Wage 46
4.3 Characteristics of employers with contract employees gaining from the
Living Wage 48
6.1 Yorkshire and Humberside gross weekly pay for care workers and senior
care workers in UK 2017 69
8.1 Breakdown of living costs (%) by expenditure category 101
10.1 Unionization rates, employer organization rates, and collective
agreement coverage in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Last available
year (%) 121
10.2 Characteristics of traditional blue- collar workers, office workers, and
service personnel (ISCO- 08 level 4- 9). Norway 2018 125
10.3 Minimum wage rates in various industries and individual rates for
comparison. Norway 2018 126
12.1 Minimum wage rates by province and territory 148
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viii List of figures and tables
12.2 A comparison of living wage levels in British Columbia (2018– 2019) 150
13.1 Determining minimum wage rates in Australia 164
15.1 The garment sector as a source of revenue and employment in
Southeast Asia 193
15.2 Examples of living wage initiatives in the garment sector 195
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Contributors
Siautu Alefaio- Tugia (Samoan lineage of Matautu-T ai, Sasina, Manunu ma Fagamalo) is
Associate Professor in the School of Psychology, Massey University, New Zealand. Her
research specialty is Pacific- indigenous humanitarian psychology and she combines
extensive practice and academic experience to reinform psychology from Pacific-
indigenous knowledge frameworks. Siautu has been awarded major research grants
from, and acted as adviser to, various New Zealand bodies including the Ministry of
Social Development (MSD), the Ministry of Education, the Counties Manukau Police
Pacific Advisory Board, and the Department of Corrections. She has published exten-
sively on issues concerning Pacific well- being for over ten years.
Kristin Alsos is Research Director at Fafo Institute for Labour and Social Research
in Oslo, Norway. Her research interests include employment relations and collective
bargaining, labour law and collective agreements, as well as labour migration (https://
fafo.no/ en/ staff/ fafo- management/ kristin- alsos). She is currently leading a Nordic
comparative project on the future of work, financed by the Nordic Council of
Ministries (https:// fafo.no/ en/ project- home).
James Arrowsmith is Professor in the School of Management, Massey University, New
Zealand. He has published over 50 articles in top- ranked journals and been awarded
over $1m in grant funding in New Zealand and from the UK Economic and Social
Research Council (ESRC). Jim has acted as a consultant for employers, government
agencies, and trade unions, including a recent series of projects for the International
Labour Organisation advising Pacific Island countries on labour reform. He is co-
director of MPOWER – the Massey People, Organisations, Work and Employment
Research group. Jim is on the editorial board of five leading HR and employment
relations journals; is co-e ditor- in- chief of Labour and Industry: A Journal of the Social and
Economic Relations of Work; and Associate Editor of the International Journal of Human
Resource Management.
Stuart Carr is Professor of Psychology, Industrial and Organizational (I/ O) Psychology
Program, Massey University, New Zealand. Stuart co- facilitates the End Poverty and
Inequality Cluster (EPIC), which includes a focus on transitions from precarious
labour to decent work and living wages. Intersecting with EPIC is Project GLOW
(Global Living Organizational Wage), a multi-c ountry, multigenerational, interdis-
ciplinary study of the links between decent wages (in purchasing power parity) and
sustainable livelihoods for the eradication of poverty – the primary UN Sustainable
Development Goal (SDG1).
