The Catholic Church is calling upon employers to pay their staff a living wage.
The call from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales coincided with Living Wage Week.
The Church says just wages are an important way of supporting workers' families.
The call is being supported by the Catholic Education Service, the
Caritas Social Action Network and Catholic development agency CAFOD.
The agencies and the Bishops' Conference are all accredited living wage employers.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference and the Catholic Education Service
have produced a living wage resource encouraging Catholic organisations,
schools and charities in England and Wales to implement just wages.
Quoting the resolution which the Bishops' Conference passed in 2012,
Mgr Marcus Stock, General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference
of England and Wales, said: "The Bishops' Conference fully endorses the
principle of the living wage and invites Catholic organisations and
charities in England and Wales to work towards its implementation."
Paul Barber, Director of the Catholic Education Service, said: "We
welcome the Bishops' invitation to support the living wage. The
importance of a 'just wage' can be found in Catholic Social Teaching,
spanning over 100 years. Schools and colleges play a central role in our Catholic communities
and we recognise that, though schools often face financial pressure,
this is one way in which we can live out our faith in service to the
common good."
Helen O'Brien, Chief Executive of CSAN, the domestic social action
agency of the Catholic Church, added: "Many Catholic Charities are
increasingly witnessing more families living in 'in-work poverty' and
struggling to afford the very basic costs of living such as food,
utilities and rent payments. We recognise the importance of just wages
as well as fair terms and conditions of employment. CSAN is committed to the principle of a living wage, which not only
enables individuals to provide materially for their families but also
allows them to spend quality time with their children".
Chris Bain, Director of CAFOD, commented: "Scripture makes many
references to the importance of paying a right and just wage for work
done. Although we were already paying the living wage for our staff before
the joining the campaign, our facilities manager was also able to
secure a living wage for the contract staff who deliver some of the
services for CAFOD through third parties. We also feel that it was important to become a living wage employer
as an expression of our solidarity with the principles of a paying a
living wage and with those individuals and organisations striving to
achieve fair pay."