The Church of England has been vocal in its backing for the Living Wage- with the Archbishop of York heading the Living Wage commission, and the Bishops writing to parishes last week on the subject ("Who is my neighbour")
So today's front page headline, in The Sun no less ("Wages of Sin") exposing how some churches and dioceses were advertising for jobs at the minimum wage, has caused more than a little embarrassment. This has been acknowledged by the Archbishop of Canterbury today, when he admitted that the Church had "fallen short of the standard".
What of the staff employed by the churches in Eastbourne, or by the Diocese of Chichester ? We don't know the full picture, which is why the Trades Council will be writing to all of the Church of England parishes in Eastbourne this week to ask whether they are employing staff on the Living Wage, and if not, what plans they have to achieve this. We will let you know the results on this page.
As employees, we would encourage all church staff to join an appropriate trade union. In the early 1990's the MSF Union (now part of Unite) started to recruit clergy and other church staff- and Unite now has a thriving Faith Workers branch, with members in Eastbourne from both the clergy and lay staff. You can find out more here. The branch also has a regular newsletter which can be downloaded here, and a Branch Blog here.
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