Become an accredited Living Wage employer

One hundred and twenty six years ago this great football club was founded with its principal aim to alleviate poverty in the East end of Glasgow. Today we have a different but no less devastating type of poverty, in work poverty. Wages are so low so close to the national minimum wage that many workers are living week to week, hand to mouth with no real financial security. No ability to save, no chance of a holiday, no way to plan for the future. The Living Wage as set out in the resolution has been calculated taking into account all of these factors and is currently £7.65 per hour.  It aims to provide breathing space for employees on low wages so that they can live rather than just exist.

Since the Campaign began in 2009 there has been a growing realisation that paying the Living Wage is not only good for employees but also for employers, communities and the economy generally. In Scotland increasing numbers of employers are paying the Living Wage including the Scottish government, the NHS in Scotland and also local councils. It is not just public sector employers who are persuaded of the benefits of paying the Living Wage. A senior partner in the multinational accountancy firm KPMG said “At KPMG we have found that paying the Living Wage not only makes good ethical sense but good business sense too”

In the one hundred and twenty six year existence of Celtic Football Club, it has remained true to its founding principles. This petition builds directly on those principles and sets out for Celtic a 21st century way of alleviating poverty today as it has done without ceasing since 1888.