DORSET Council has denied that it has ignored pleas for a living wage for some of its lowest paid staff.

It says all of its staff get more than the National Living Wage of £8.72 an hour, the lowest rate set at £9.25 an hour.

Professor Phillip Marfleet from the local Action on Wages group says the issue was first raised with the council more than a year ago and the authority has since approved an Economic Growth Strategy which was not debated by full council and contains no proposals to introduce a Real Living Wage.

“Almost a third of jobs in the council’s area pay less than the Real Living Wage: in Weymouth and Portland this rises to 48%, the second-worst record in the country,” said Professor Marfleet in a question to the full council.

“Many of Dorset’s low-paid jobs are in tourism and retail - among the sectors hardest hit by the COVID crisis. Termination of the government’s Job Retention Scheme could have a devastating impact…Dorset is likely to be one of the areas worst affected by the COVID crisis – its low wages making many families vulnerable.”

He said that Cornwall council has introduced the Real Living Wage for all employees in 2015 and saw no reason why Dorset could not do the same.