For the last 9 years Merton Lib Dems have been campaigning to help some of the poorest paid and hardest working people in our community – those who  look after people who need care.

We started 9 years ago with a question from a member of the public – me – at a Council meeting about the Council paying its staff the London Living Wage (LLW).   The answer was that it would cost £275k and would cause all sorts of difficulties.

A few months later  the Council announced that it had decided to pay all staff at least the LLW: the many difficulties to doing this had disappeared and the cost reduced to £47k.

That didn’t cover those working for Merton’s contractors though and in particular those working in social care. Mary-Jane Jeanes – then the sole Liberal Democrat councillor – proposed a motion that asked for Merton to commit to paying the staff of contractors the LLW and to commit to become a Living Wage Employer.

It was voted down by the Labour Group.

In 2018 a much increased Lib Dem Group took up the issue. We asked questions, we proposed motions and amendments usually fruitlessly: Labour would not budge. But in July last year we had a breakthrough – Labour agreed to amendments saying that the Council agreed in principle to pay contractors staff the LLW and that the Council would find out how much it would cost to do ( in the past we had been told this was too difficult) .

Yesterday we had the Council’s Budget meeting and a Lib Dem motion was passed welcoming the fact that the budget now contains money for staff working for contractors to be paid the LLW, as contracts come up for renewal.

That’s not the perfect  solution – in theory that money could be taken out and we will be pressing for the Council to make a binding commitment by signing up as a Living Wage Employer.

It’s often tempting as a minority group to think we can’t achieve a lot. But by continuous pressure, by not giving up and by shaming Labour into finally agreeing, we will have made a real difference to the lives of people who do difficult , often under valued jobs and for whom the difference  between LLW (£10.85 an hour) and the Minimum wage (£8.72 an hour) will make their lives just a bit better.

I hope this is something that other Council groups and Local parties will take up – not only is it the right thing to do and fits with our core values but it is a good complement to Ed’s campaign on unpaid Carers.

* Simon McGrath is a councillor in Wimbledon and Whip of the Lib Dem Group on Merton Council.