Xplore Dundee has launched a very special Living Wage Bus to celebrate Living Wage Week. The bus operator has been an accredited Living Wage employer since January 2016 and is aiming to promote Dundee’s success as the first Living Wage City.  

Christine McGlasson, Managing Director of Xplore Dundee, said: “We are proud to be a Living Wage Employer and we want to encourage other local businesses to follow suit and help boost the city’s economy.  

“Many of our employees have benefitted from our commitment to the real Living Wage that meets the actual cost of living, not just the statutory minimum. Our people work incredibly hard behind the scenes to keep Dundee moving, and it’s important that we recognise their efforts.

“Paying our staff a wage which allows them to spend comfortably, to save a little more, or enjoy a higher standard of living is the right thing to do. It’s a small increase but it makes a big difference for our employees, our business and our community.”

At the beginning of this week, the Living Wage Foundation announced a new real Living Wage of £9.30 per hour, up from £9, an increase of 30p per hour. The rate is independently calculated to reflect the increased cost of living and is £1.09 per hour more than the minimum wage (for over 25s).  

Xplore Dundee is part of the Action Group working with Living Wage Scotland to increase the number of accredited employers in the city. At the start of the campaign earlier this year there were 51 Living Wage employers in Dundee; the number now stands at 78, with more businesses showing an interest in accreditation all the time.  

Xplore Dundee is taking part in various Living Wage activities in the city during the week, culminating in the Living Wage Scotland Awards in Glasgow on Friday evening, when the bus operator will find out if it is a winner in the category of Outstanding Leadership, where it is shortlisted alongside Dundee’s Living Wage City Action Group.

Managing Director Christine McGlasson said: “There are no less than five businesses or individuals from Dundee shortlisted for these awards, which just goes to show the efforts we are making to ensure our city is truly a Living Wage Place. We are working together with other members of the Action Group to convince as many employers as we can that accreditation is the right thing to do for their workers and for our community as a whole.”