Glasgow City Council increases 'living wage' for staff

Glasgow City Council is to increase its minimum "living wage" rate by 5p to £7.20 an hour from April next year.

The authority was the first in Scotland to launch the policy in 2009, at a rate of £7 per hour, in a bid to support those in low paid work.

Since then, more than 150 employers in and around Glasgow, with a total of 50,000 staff, have joined the scheme.

Council leader Gordon Matheson said the policy had "made a real difference to the lives of thousands of people".

It is thought that there are up to 80,000 people in Glasgow - most of them women - earning less than the council's current living wage rate.