Street Cleaners in Milton Keynes have won their fight to be paid the real Living Wage. 

The team of street cleaners employed by Serco work across Milton Keynes helping to keep the city a great place to live, work and visit. Trade Union GMB represented them to negotiate an increase in their pay to the real Living Wage.

Cabinet Member for Public Realm, Cllr Emily Darlington told us: “As a Labour-led Council we’re proud to be a Living Wage employer and championing the fight for the real Living Wage.”

She continued: “Serco are the Council’s largest single contractor so it was really important to bring their contract in line with the commitment MK Council has made to being a Living Wage employer”

The real Living Wage is calculated by the Living Wage Foundation based on the real cost of living, not just the Government minimum wage. Milton Keynes Council is an accredited Living Wage employer and this move from Serco signals the last of the teams employed and contracted by Milton Keynes Council to be paid a minimum of the real Living Wage. 

Richard Owen, Regional Organiser for GMB told us: “It’s a testament to Labour-led MK Council’s commitment to being a Living Wage employer that we’ve been able to work on negotiating this uplift in pay from Serco well ahead of contract renewal in 2023. These employees are now guaranteed to receive the real Living Wage into the future so this will make a real difference to this team and their families”

Cllr Darlington added: “The Tories have created a toxic environment of in-work poverty thanks to a minimum wage out of line with the real cost of living, resulting in more and more working families experiencing in-work poverty. I can say for sure that if the Tories were in control of MK Council we wouldn’t have been able to achieve this outcome”

She concluded: “I’m delighted to see that all of our employees and contracted employees will now benefit from receiving a minimum of the real Living Wage to be able to support them and their families.”