A motion agreed at the Greater London Assembly (GLA) yesterday urged the Mayor to sign up to the Government’s pledge to limit senior public sector pay settlements.

And even though the Prime Minister has pledged to limit the highest public sector pay settlement to a 1:20 ratio, all Conservative Assembly Members opposed the motion yesterday.

Eventually the GLA passed a motion (proposed by Darren Johnson, Green Party AM) by 13 – 12, setting the maximum pay ratio allowed within the GLA and its associated bodies.

The cap would apply to the Greater London Authority, The Metropolitan Police Authority, The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, Transport for London and the London Development Agency and would include a long term goal of no one in the GLA Group being paid more than ten times the lowest salary.

The Greater London Assembly is following the example it took on the Living Wage, and is once again leading the way in best practice on remuneration and reducing inequality.

Darren Johnson AM said:

Research shows that pay inequality has a detrimental effect on the whole of society, the rich, the middle classes and the poor. Countries with a smaller gap between the well and low paid have less crime, fewer health problems and greater social cohesion.

We welcome David Cameron’s pledge to limit the pay gap in the public sector and urge Mayor Boris Johnson to follow his leader and implement a similar policy across the GLA Group.

He also wrote an article for Guardian CIF on the issue.

The full text of the motion reads as follows:

This Assembly notes the Prime Minister’s pledge to limit the highest public sector pay settlement to no more than twenty times that of the lowest worker, and the Equality Trust’s proposal to aim for pay inequality to be reduced to no more than ten times. The Assembly also notes that within the GLA Group there are approximately 90 staff paid more than ten times the London Living Wage.

As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.

From a press release

Reader comments

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12. Adam Bienkov

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13. Jenny Jones

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14. Graham Jeffery

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15. John West

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16. One Society campaign

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17. Rachel H

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18. Darren Johnson

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19. AdamRamsay

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