Encirc accredited as a Living Wage employer

The Real Living Wage, outside of London, is set at £12 per hour and is calculated at what it costs to “get by” by the Resolution Foundation.

Encirc welcomed Mary McManus, Regional Manager for Living Wage NI to its factory recently to mark Encirc’s accreditation.

Mary said: “My role is to encourage more companies to sign up as Living Wage employers, committing to pay their directly employed and indirectly employed staff the real Living Wage. The official wage figures for last year show that 15.6 per cent of employees in Northern Ireland were paid below the Real Living Wage which is the third highest in the UK.”

“There are currently over 15,000 companies in the UK signed to the Living Wage scheme. Northern Ireland is lagging behind.  That is why I am delighted to be here at Encirc to award them their accreditation as a company that pays the real Living Wage. It is our aim to increase the number of people receiving a real wage and we want to encourage companies to follow Encirc’s lead and sign up to the accreditation scheme. The evidence shows that the Living Wage is not just good for employees, it is also good for business by improving retention which cuts down on recruitment and training costs.”

Fiacre O’Donnell, Sustainability Director at Encirc, part of the Vidrala Group, was on hand to welcome Mary to the factory. He said: “This accreditation is important to us, we want Encirc to be a great place to work for all its employees and we would encourage other companies to sign up for the scheme.

“In that way, wage levels can be improved, and we can reduce the number of people being paid below the Real Living Wage. We wish Mary well in her role to tackle this important societal issue here in Northern Ireland.”

You can find out more about signing up as a Living Wage employer here.