A student campaign urging the introduction of a living wage for all university staff made vital progress this week. The University of Cambridge has decided that it will pay all staff employed directly by the university the current living wage of £7.65 per hour starting Friday. 

By adopting the living wage, the University of Cambridge joins other educational institutions such as Manchester University, Queen Mary University London, LSE, UCL and the London Business School.

The living wage, which is the minimum amount a person needs to live on, as defined and calculated by the Centre for Research in Social Policy, has been a major topic for Cambridge University Labour Club over the past year. CULC declared on Twitter that the University’s decision is ‘’a terrific victory’’ and that it was ‘’demonstrative of the fact that student activism really can make a tangible difference’’. 

The implementation of the living wage across Cambridge has also been welcomed by the Cambridge City Council, which is planning on launching a citywide living wage campaign in the near future. The current rate of the living wage represents a £1.34 increase over the legally mandated minimum wage of £6.31 per hour.

Despite these successful steps for the Cambridge living wage campaign, the University’s decision does not apply to all of the 1113 staff employed across the University of Cambridge at minimum wage level. The decision will only affect the around 130 members of staff directly employed by the university.

Staff working for one of Cambridge’s 31 constituent colleges will not be affected by the central ruling. Consequently more than 900 employees of the University will continue to earn less than the £7.65 per hour. In February, King's became the latest college to pay all its staff the living wage, joining the likes of Homerton, Hughes Hall and St Catherine's.