MPA secures London living wage for all its FM contractors

18 August 2008

The Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) has agreed a deal with its FM contractors to bring the pay of all maintenance staff employed on MPS projects up to the rate of the new London Living Wage (LLW).

The initiative, driven by the MPS Property Services Department (PSD), will see the hourly rate of 744 cleaning and messenger staff increase to £7.45. The deal follows a recent decision by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to raise the Living Wage for the capital from the previous rate of £7.20 and ensure that it is rolled out through all GLA group contracts.

Steve O'Connell, chair of the MPA finance committee, said: "The Metropolitan Police Authority is committed to ensuring that everyone working in our buildings are properly rewarded for their contribution and able to afford a decent standard of living. The implementation of the new London Living Wage across all our contracts will help ensure that this is achieved. I am very pleased with this deal, which will not only improve the standard of living for hundreds of people and their families, but also help achieve better staff morale and higher productivity."

Under the agreement, the cost of the overall pay increase will be shared by PSD and the individual contractors, which include Haden Building Management Ltd and InterserveFM Ltd.

The LLW will be introduced in a phased way by each contractor and the pay increase will be supported by new training initiatives - rolled out by the companies involved - to raise staff competence levels and improve performance.

Gordon Russell, Director of Facilities Management for MPS PSD, said: "The additional benefits that this initiative will bring, such as staff training, will help ensure that staff remain motivated in their jobs and therefore lead to both higher retention of employees and better recruitment opportunities."

Overall responsibility for the Metropolitan Police estate is vested in the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), and day-to-day management of the police estate is delegated to the Metropolitan Police Service's Property Services Department (PSD).

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, announced the new London Living Wage rate of £7.45 an hour on 10 July, 2008. The calculation of the new rate is outlined in GLA Economic report 'A fairer London: The 2008 Living Wage in London', which is available on http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/economic_unit/index.jsp.