Nearly 400 new jobs in Northern Ireland could be bolstered with mandatory living wage
10 September 2014
As two companies announce significant investment in Northern Ireland, creating 373 jobs, research suggests that the introduction of a living wage could lead to significantly more jobs in the province.
Wed, 10 Sep 2014
As two companies announce significant investment in Northern Ireland, creating 373 jobs, research suggests that the introduction of a living wage could lead to significantly more jobs in the province.
Announced by Invest Northern Ireland, professional services firm Deloitte is creating 338 jobs by expanding its Belfast practice. The new roles will be across a range of services including technology, pensions and actuarial consulting, and finance.
In a statement, deputy first minister Martin McGuiness said Deloitte’s investment would be worth £11m to the economy annually.
The other company is drinks label producer Webtech NI, which is creating 35 jobs in Enniskillen in an £11m investment that includes purchasing two new printers.
In announcing the investment, enterprise, trade and investment minister Arlene Foster said in a statement that the new Webtech jobs would pay well above the Northern Ireland private sector median.
Invest NI has offered £767,000 to Webtech and £2.5m to Deloitte in support of the investment.
The Department for Employment and Learning has also offered Deloitte more than £800k under its Assured Skills programme for pre-employment training for 60 people.
Webtech currently employs 120 people, while Deloitte is expected to have 700 people employed in Belfast by 2019.
Meanwhile, a report published by the Northern Ireland Centre for Voluntary Action (NVICA) suggests introducing a mandatory living wage in the province could lead to greater employment.
The research suggests the move could, under a best case scenario, see 2,500 jobs created, but under a more conservative scenario, 2,400 jobs created and 1,200 lost.
The wage, an hourly rate that would provide a full-time worker with a basic, but acceptable, standard of living, is £7.65 in Northern Ireland but the statutory minimum wage is £6.31.
The study used market data from 2012. At the time, the living wage was £7.20 per hour and it was estimated almost a quarter (23% or 173,000) of workers earned less than that.
Had a mandatory living wage been in effect then the 173,000 workers would have received a gross pay rise of £1,277 each a year.
As two companies announce significant investment in Northern Ireland, creating 373 jobs, research suggests that the introduction of a living wage could lead to significantly more jobs in the province.
Announced by Invest Northern Ireland, professional services firm Deloitte is creating 338 jobs by expanding its Belfast practice. The new roles will be across a range of services including technology, pensions and actuarial consulting, and finance.
In a statement, deputy first minister Martin McGuiness said Deloitte’s investment would be worth £11m to the economy annually.
The other company is drinks label producer Webtech NI, which is creating 35 jobs in Enniskillen in an £11m investment that includes purchasing two new printers.
In announcing the investment, enterprise, trade and investment minister Arlene Foster said in a statement that the new Webtech jobs would pay well above the Northern Ireland private sector median.
Invest NI has offered £767,000 to Webtech and £2.5m to Deloitte in support of the investment.
The Department for Employment and Learning has also offered Deloitte more than £800k under its Assured Skills programme for pre-employment training for 60 people.
Webtech currently employs 120 people, while Deloitte is expected to have 700 people employed in Belfast by 2019.
Meanwhile, a report published by the Northern Ireland Centre for Voluntary Action (NVICA) suggests introducing a mandatory living wage in the province could lead to greater employment.
The research suggests the move could, under a best case scenario, see 2,500 jobs created, but under a more conservative scenario, 2,400 jobs created and 1,200 lost.
The wage, an hourly rate that would provide a full-time worker with a basic, but acceptable, standard of living, is £7.65 in Northern Ireland but the statutory minimum wage is £6.31.
The study used market data from 2012. At the time, the living wage was £7.20 per hour and it was estimated almost a quarter (23% or 173,000) of workers earned less than that.
Had a mandatory living wage been in effect then the 173,000 workers would have received a gross pay rise of £1,277 each a year.
