CAMPAIGNERS have demanded low-paid workers in Oxford are guaranteed a wage of at least £10 an hour to fight poverty across the city.

The Oxford City Living Wage Campaign, which is backed by MPs Layla Moran and Anneliese Dodds, says employers should pay more to staff to combat the high cost of living.

Oxford City Council pays the Oxford Living Wage to all of its employees and encourages others to pay the rate of £9.26-an-hour – but campaign members have said that needs to be higher.

Campaign member and Oxford city councillor for St Clement's, Tom Hayes, said: "Low pay blights the lives of so many people in Oxford and fuels inequality and poverty.

"The Government’s re-branding of the minimum wage to the National Living Wage isn't dealing with problems of low pay and rising cost of living.

"We need a £10 living wage.”

A hike to £10-an-hour would mean someone working 38-hour weeks for a year would be in line for a pay rise of about £1,400 annually before tax – a total salary of just over £19,750 a year.

In July 2015 the then Chancellor, George Osborne, announced the introduction of a National Living Wage, which replaced the National Minimum Wage for employees aged over 25, in April 2016.

Outside London, the National Living Wage is set at £7.50 an hour, equating to £14,820 annually based on working 38-hour weeks, compared to just under £18,300 for people who are paid the current Oxford Living Wage.

Oxford City Council has a working group investigating low pay and the impact of the Oxford Living Wage.

It is led by city councillor Mark Ladbrooke and met for the first time last Tuesday.

He said more needs to be done to combat poverty across the city – and one way that could be done was paying low paid workers more.

He said earlier: “Our town of dreaming spires is built on a lot of exploited workers living in misery.

"It is a reflection of the size of the problem and the appallingly low paid staff in the city.

"It is a problem with wages and it is a problem with housing.

"You need to make movement on that. Some people rent out houses and they absolutely pack tenants into them.

"I remember speaking to someone and they said they couldn't afford a house so they were renting a landing.

"Some people are living in garages. It is an appalling problem."

Employers can also sign up to the independent Living Wage Foundation scheme, which encourages to pay employees £8.45 an hour if they are outside London and £9.75 if they are in the capital.

As the Oxford Mail has previously reported, 39 businesses or organisations in the city have signed up, including Oxford University.

The working group will next meet to discuss the living wage on Tuesday, October 3.