University of Birmingham bosses have been urged to honour the memory of its founder Joseph Chamberlain and pay 513 contract cleaning and support staff the real Living Wage of £8.45 per hour.

Members of trade union Unison were joined by more than 20 cleaners for a protest outside the University’s new £60 million library calling for fair pay.

And they were backed by historian Carl Chinn who said that raising wages of the poorest paid would respect the organisation’s heritage.

He said: “As one of the largest employers in Birmingham and as an institution founded by Joseph Chamberlain, who strove to improve the welfare and well-being of working-class people, the University of Birmingham should shine out as a beacon of good practice by paying the real Living Wage to the 513 staff who are paid below that level.

“It is deeply upsetting, then, that the University does not shine out as such a beacon, all the more so as it could not function without the skills, dedication and hard work of those 513 workers. Their essential contribution should be recognised and valued by immediately paying them the real Living Wage .”

Unison claimed that more than a fifth of the university’s 2,435 support staff are paid too little to live on and some rely on grants from the union to cover basic bills.

Cleaners campaign for a Living Wage of £8.45 per hour at the University of Birmingham. Trade union Unison is backing them

It pointed out the university has income of £577 million per year and its vice chancellor Sir David Eastwood earns more than £400,000 per year.

It could afford the £160,000 extra it would cost to cover the Living Wage for the 513 staff said Unison spokesman Matt Raine.

The protest also had the backing of local council committee chairwoman Karen McCarthy (Lab, Selly Oak) who added: “From an income of over £577 million they should be paying all their staff a wage they can live on.”

The University said that the lowest pay rate is currently £7.85 per hour, 65p above the legal minimum wage. But it added that the pay is under annual review and any pay award would be back dated to August.

A spokeswoman added: “The University employs more people than any private sector employer in Birmingham and we are proud of our record of employment and remuneration. In addition to pay, all members of staff enjoy generous holiday, sick pay and pension arrangements.

“The University also offers a broad range of working patterns to help staff combine their career aspirations with their responsibilities outside work.”

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