BELFAST Charitable Society has become a Real Living Wage Funder – the first in the North of Ireland.
The charity recently announced that it has become a Real Living Wage Employer, a commitment to pay its employees a rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living. It is now going one step further in tackling low pay within the voluntary and community sector by becoming a Real Living Wage Funder.
Paula Reynolds, CEO of Belfast Charitable Society explained: “We are delighted to be the first Northern Ireland based funder to be accredited with the Real Living Wage Funder status.
"With over 270 years of history Belfast Charitable Society has always been innovative in tackling poverty and disadvantage, and most importantly on how we supported individuals to break the cycle of poverty.
"Our archive records, which show hundreds of examples of well-paid apprenticeship schemes, are a testament to this, and today we continue to make that commitment by giving a guarantee to our grant recipients that we will ensure our funding enables them to pay the real living wage to their employees.
"This will not only positively impact real people struggling due to the continued cost of living crisis, but more widely will help to tackle the huge problem of low pay within the sector.
“Belfast Charitable Society now joins other funders such as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Esmee Fairbairn and the National Lottery Community Fund, who despite not being based in Northern Ireland, support a number of grant recipients here."
Paula said more still needs to be done.
"Low pay needs to become a thing of the past," she said. "Having gone through the process of becoming a Real Living Wage employer and now a Real Living Wage Funder, we are delighted to host this event in Clifton House and would encourage other employers and funders to come along and find out more about how they can become a Real Living Wage employer.”
Mary McManus, Regional Manager, Living Wage NI, added: “We are delighted that not only has Belfast Charitable Society accredited as a Living Wage Employer, they have taken the next step and become the first ever funder in Northern Ireland to accredit as a Living Wage Funder.
"This is a significant milestone for the Living Wage movement here. Low pay is a significant issue in the Community and Voluntary sector, a sector that provides essential services to so many."
On Thursday, March 27, as part of the Imagine Festival an event entitled Making NI a Living Wage Region will take place at Clifton House, home of Belfast Charitable Society.
