Young campaigners: “Step Up: a Living Wage to Live Life”

“I’m worried that when I have to look for work myself in the future I’ll find it difficult to pay the bills – a living wage for Wales would at least show my friends and I that working hard at school and getting a job is the best way to get on in life.”

These are the words and experiences of some of  the young people from Wales, aged between 10 and 16 years old, that are part of Save the Children’s new UK-wide campaign: Step Up: a Living Wage to Live Life.

“In the communities we live in we see friends of ours whose parents work hard but still struggle to make ends meet. This is not fair.”

What we’re calling for

The young campaigner’s petition is calling on the Welsh government to STEP UP and stand by their manifesto promise to work towards a living wage for every worker in Wales.

They could take that first step themselves by signing up to become living wage employers.

The living wage is a minimum level of pay set to ensure an acceptable standard of living.

Calculated by academics looking at the cost of living, it’s currently set at £7.20 per hour (£8.30 in London).

This compares to the national minimum wage for adults set at £6.08 per hour.

Tackling child poverty

Young people from around the UK involved with Save the Children have been discussing the issue of child poverty and what they want doing to tackle the impact they see in their local communities.

They chose to campaign on the issue because they can see the increasing number’s of families where parents are working hard but still finding it difficult to make ends meet and give their children the best start in life.

They also have concerns about their own futures, about not being able to get jobs that will pay enough for them to be able to enjoy a decent standard of living.

In Wales today 200,000 children live in poverty and in the majority of those households at least one parent is in work.

There are parts of Wales where nearly 30% of employees are paid less than £7 per hour and with the cost of living rising faster in Wales than the rest of the UK those low wage rates are becoming harder and harder to get by on.

Our petition asks that the Welsh government helps families and children in Wales get a fairer future.

Sign up to the petition to show your support

You can follow us on Twitter at @savechildrencym and the hashtag for our campaign is #livingwage.