MEMBER NEWS: J+S Subsea celebrates commitment to real Living Wage

March 11, 2022
MEMBER NEWS: J+S Subsea celebrates commitment to real Living Wage

J+S Subsea has announced its accreditation as a Living Wage Employer.

The subsea controls engineering specialists is based in Scotland, a region where over 14% of all workers earn less than they need to get by, with around 333,000 jobs paying less than the real Living Wage.

Despite this, J+S Subsea has committed to pay the real Living Wage and deliver a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work.

Its Living Wage commitment will see all employees receive a minimum hourly wage of £9.90 in the UK, significantly higher than the government minimum for over 23s, which currently stands at £8.91 per hour.

Managing director Phil Reid said: “We have chosen to become a Living Wage accredited employer in recognition of the fact we are nothing without the talented team of people who drive J+S Subsea’s success.

“Our reputation in the industry is built on the satisfied clients that rely on the dedication and expertise of that team.

“Signing up to the real Living Wage was an easy decision to make.”

The real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate calculated according to the costs of living. Employers choose to pay the real Living Wage on a voluntary basis, recognising the value of their workers and ensuring that a hard day’s work receives a fair day’s pay.

Since 2011 the Living Wage movement has delivered a pay rise to over 52,000 people in Scotland and put over £310 million extra into the pockets of low paid Scottish workers.

Peter Kelly, Director of The Poverty Alliance said: “We all need an income that is enough to cover our needs and protect us from poverty, and it’s only right that employers pay a wage that reflects the cost of living. Too many workers in Scotland are paid less than the real Living Wage and, at a time of rising costs, are struggling to stay afloat. The real Living Wage can offer protection from those rising costs.”

“Congratulations to J+S Subsea on their Living Wage commitment, and I hope more organisations follow their lead by becoming Living Wage accredited.”

Gail Irvine, Living Wage Scotland Manager said: “We’re delighted that J+S Subsea has become an accredited Living Wage employer. They join a growing movement of over 2500 employers in Scotland who together want to ensure workers have what they need to thrive.

Our Living Wage employer network includes lots of smaller employers as well as larger and iconic brands like SSE, abrdn, Barrs, Mackie’s of Scotland, & D.C. Thomson. We hope to see many more employers following their example.”

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AREG is the original energy transition organisation, working on behalf of members to empower the energy supply chain and champion its expertise. Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to find out more about membership.

AREG has played an important role in the growth of Scotland’s renewable energy sector, engaging the supply chain and developing the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. However, we are only at the very beginning of the transition that AREG was established to both lead and support so there are still opportunities for companies to get into the constantly evolving renewables supply chain. We look forward to continuing our work together as renewables builds on its place as Scotland’s main source of power, and as we seek to deliver real change in the crucial areas of heat and transport.

Scottish Renewables

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce has worked closely with AREG since its formation. The recent progress in the developments of offshore wind projects by Equinor and Vattenfall are as a result of the work of the group over many years. The north-east is known as the oil and gas capital of Europe. At the Chamber, we believe the region must evolve its position to being recognised as the energy capital. Whilst hydrocarbons will continue to be essential in driving our economy for years to come, the generation of renewable resources will play an increasingly important role in providing cost-effective power, innovative development and economic growth.

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce

The enthusiasm and dedication of the early group that would become AREG was fundamental in us choosing to launch All-Energy in Aberdeen. The first tiny show was held in 2001, and AREG’s Chairman at the time, Jeremy Cresswell, played such an active role that I often describe him in terms such as All-Energy’s ‘midwife’. All-Energy is now the UK’s largest renewable and low carbon energy exhibition and conference in terms of number of attendees, space booked, and number of exhibiting companies. As AREG became firmly established, their presence and support for the event grew spectacularly over the years. We thank them most sincerely for their invaluable input.

All-Energy

Vattenfall has forged a strong working relationship with AREG through the development of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. AREG has worked tirelessly on behalf of the North East and it can take enormous credit for the growth of sustainable energy in the region and the path it has cleared for the region to capture further investment.

Vattenfall

Aberdeen City and Shire is emerging as a key location for renewables by successfully transferring its world-class oil and gas expertise into the sector and AREG has done much to advance this through a broad range of initiatives. It has acted as a catalyst in driving further investment in the local economy by engaging with companies, Government, public bodies and existing projects and we have been pleased to support their efforts. Scottish Enterprise will continue to engage with AREG as we increase Scotland’s use of renewable energy.

Scottish Enterprise