LOW paid council staff are on the verge of having their wages boosted as plans are finalised to introduce the living wage.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council’s personnel and general purposes committee approved these measures at a meeting earlier this month with the change due to implemented in the next financial year.

The Council already supports around 370 lower paid workers with a locally agreed supplement to boost their salary from the minimum wage.

The agreed actions will build on those arrangements by increasing the level of supplement to be paid and approximately 80 further workers from many departments within the council will also see their hourly wage being given a boost to match the national living wage rate of £7.85.

Cllr Norman Pickthall, cabinet member for corporate resources, said: “Paying the living wage is the right thing to do for hardworking families within the council and we hope it will have a positive impact for them”.

“It also makes financial sense to adopt the higher wage. Research from the Living Wage Commission shows that the living wage provides a morale boost for employees as well as the quality of life benefits a better wage brings. It also has wider benefits in terms of staff recruitment and retention, and an impact on the local economy.”

The rise, which will be implemented in the 2015/2016 financial year, will affect around 450 staff in total – within the council and in the borough’s schools – who will receive the living wage at an overall cost of around £220,000 in the first year.