Livingstone pledges equal pay commissioner for London

Ken Livingstone will today promise to establish an Equal Pay Commissioner for London if elected next May.

Speaking at the Fem11 Conference in central London – which would have included the first Mayoral debate, had Boris Johnson not pulled out – Ken will set out his plans for the new Commissioner role, who will be responsible for leading the campaign to close the gender pay gap in the capital.

This will include:

• Any firm winning a contract from the GLA Group will have to meet the conditions for Equal Pay set out by the Commissioner.

• The Equal Pay Commissioner will establish an index of the pay gap in the largest firms and monitor the trends in pay. They will champion any firm or organisation where the pay gap is closing, and work with others who need support and advice on closing it.

• The Commissioner will also work on issues such as representation of women in every level of the workplace; flexible working; in-work training; and equal pension rights.

In a statement released by his campaign, Livingstone said:

“For too long London has been too unequal a city. I am committed to tackling the scandal of unequal pay in the capital, which has increased under the impact of the recession and Tory policies at national and mayoral level. The pay gap affects both ends of the pay scale, with women increasingly forced into part-time work and out of public sector jobs, services and retailing.

Today, I am pledging to establish an Equal Pay Commissioner for women in London if elected next year. My Equal Pay Commissioner will be a champion for London women’s pay. I am determined to do what I can to prevent women being the main casualties of the current crisis and to ensure that talents of all Londoners are rewarded fairly. I will stand up for London’s women and will always put their interests first.”