Diocese of Niagara supports living wage program

From here:

Hamilton’s business voice and a leading social service agency have joined a crusade to make the city a living wage economy.

The Hamilton Chamber of Commerce and the Good Shepherd Centres signed onto the drive Friday, joining a growing group calling for a basic wage that’s tied to what it actually costs to live here.

[….]

In Hamilton, the campaign argues a working person needs at least $14.95 an hour to purchase adequate shelter, clothing, food, transportation, child care, health insurance and “social inclusion” needs, such as a city recreation pass and other necessities.

Companies and agencies backing Living Wage Hamilton …….

Anglican Diocese of Niagara

There is only one problem with this: the Diocese of Niagara pays its janitors $12.50 per hour while campaigning for everyone else to pay at least $14.95 per hour; poor chaps will be deprived of their social inclusion needs – whatever that means..

Church of England is underpaying its employees

The Church of England is keen to point out to employers that they should pay their employees a living wage:

The Living Wage is a voluntary undertaking by employers to pay their lowest paid staff more than the statutory minimum wage, which is currently £6.19 per hour for workers aged 21 and over. This covers contracted and sub-contracted workers, as well as directly employed staff.

The current Living Wage is £8.55 per hour in Greater London and £7.45 per hour in the rest of the UK.

It is much less keen to follow its own advice, though:

The Church of England, is paying more than 70 of its own workers less than the living wage – despite lecturing employers about their duty to pay higher salaries.

The care and cleaning staff, employed running sheltered housing schemes for retired clergy, earn less than the ‘living wage’ which the Church urges all companies to pay.

The living wage is supposed to ensure that families can afford food, clothes and rent.

What is more, the CofE believes that executives who are too well paid are threatening to disrupt societal harmony:

The church, which has £8bn invested in some of the world’s biggest companies, said executive pay had become so excessive it was a risk to maintaining a harmonious society.

If the executive in question works for the Church, then the rules the church would like to sanctimoniously foist upon secular capitalists don’t apply:

The CofE’s highest paid staff member is General Synod Secretary-General William Fittall, who is on over £150,000 a year, more than the Prime Minister. Since the Church is a charity, this salary puts Mr Fittall among the very best rewarded charity executives.

There is no hypocrisy so grossly conspicuous as religious hypocrisy; in spite of all its other bumbling, the Church of England is doing at least this one thing well.