WORKERS and students of Oxford University have called upon the institution and its colleges to pay the Oxford living wage to all staff.
The Oxford living wage is set at £10.02 an hour and the council has announced it will increase to £10.21 for 2020. This wage is different to the national living wage of £9.30 which is thought to be a sufficient and liveable wage for the UK and not just for Oxford.
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The University is a large employer in the city, is responsible for nearly 15,000 livelihoods, but currently only three of the Oxford colleges pay all their staff the Oxford living wage. These colleges include Campion Hall, Blackfriars and St Cross.
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To fight against low wages students and staff of the university gathered for a rally outside Clarendon Building today to demand fair wages.
Grace Tierney, a student at St Anne's college, said: "We do see it as an institutional failing, Oxford is possibly the richest University in the UK and each college makes profits which aren't going to their staff. There is a real social and economic disconnect between domestic staff, students and academic staff."
In response to the rally the University of Oxford said: “The University of Oxford is proud to be an accredited Living Wage employer. We pay at least the Living Wage to all of our employees and third-party contractors who work regularly on our premises.”
However, students and staff are demanding more than a national living wage and they perceive it to be immoral that profits are spent on balls and renovations instead of its staff.
Councillor Martyn Rush said at the rally: "If the wage is less than the Oxford living wage then it is a poverty wage."
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