EALING Council has agreed to increase the salaries of its lowest paid employees to meet the London Living Wage.

The authority agreed to work towards paying its staff the LLW level in October, but at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, it agreed to increase the salaries of some of its security, catering and cleaning staff.

This decision means that all direct employees are now paid at least the London Living Wage of £8.55 per hour.

These staff will now be paid a supplement that will increase their earnings to the level calculated by the Greater London Authority to be the minimum at which workers and their families can live free from poverty in the capital.

The decision to pay the supplement will be reviewed every financial year.

Councillor Yvonne Johnson, cabinet member for finance and performance, said: “Not only is paying the London Living Wage the moral thing to do, it also makes sense financially. When people are paid at a decent rate they are more motivated and productive. There is also less absenteeism and a lower staff turnover which is good for the council and for council tax payers.”