Homerton College has pledged to raise all staff pay rates to at least £7.45 starting in April 2013. This figure is the official living wage of the UK, calculated by the Centre for Research in Social Policy. 

Claims to the insufficiency of the National Minimum Wage, which is currently £6.19, have sparked Living Wage campaigns around the UK, and the topic has not left the citizens and institutions of Cambridge unaffected.

The backlash of a Freedom of Information (FoI) request made in October 2012 put the spotlight on Homerton College, identified as one of the colleges with the highest number of staff paid less than the living wage. According to the data, Homerton was employing 65 people for less than the designated hourly rate. Despite the college’s large size, these numbers were nonetheless disproportionally high in relation to other Cambridge colleges. 

Homerton’s decision comes after lobbying initiated by Homerton Union of Students president Greg Hill, who took his office with this goal in mind: “It's something that I pledged to do on being elected as a JCR President and I'm really happy that we have”. He believes this initiative bears great significance as “an excellent idea to ensure that people are able to have at least a basic standard of living.”

CUSU is also an avid supporter of the cause, with a team dedicated to supporting the Living Wage campaign throughout the university. CUSU President Rosalyn Old commented on Homerton’s decision saying:  “We are delighted to see real progress in the Living Wage campaign. We're very glad to see that this CUSU policy is having a real effect on the colleges”.

Homerton is one of the first colleges to implement this voluntary measure, and signs of the campaign’s success are increasing elsewhere. According to a recent FoI inquiry into the same question, colleges including Fitzwilliam and Queens’ claimed to have zero members of staff paid less than the living wage. Another notable living wage employer in Cambridge is the Cambridge City Council, who pledged to raise their pay from minimum wage last October.

However, the issue has not spread throughout all Cambridge institutions; the latest FoI data shows that colleges such as King’s still employ a large number of staff, both permanent and casual, under living wage, not to mention the University itself, with its number reaching above 200. Some colleges have resisted the pay increase by noting that it would force them to pay casual staff the same amount as permanent employees, who they suggest are already mostly paid at least the living wage.

Greg Hill, who also serves as chair of the Cambridge Universities Labour Club, nonetheless has high hopes for the effects of Homerton’s decision: “I hope that the success of Homerton will set a precedent for the rest of the university and re-spark the campaign in Cambridge University.”