Howard Shiplee says contractors tendering for Olympic work will have to offer workers in London sufficient wages

The Olympic Delivery Authority has pledged its support for the London Living Wage, which is designed to pay London workers enough to make ends meet in the capital.

Howard Shiplee, ODA construction director, said: “For whatever reason, I think there has been a level of misunderstanding around the ODA’s position on the London living wage. We have gone away and looked very carefully at how we can give more clarity recognising the constraints of the legal advice that we have received on the issue.”

The ODA will require contractors tendering for jobs to demonstrate that they adopt the best employment practices, including trade union recognition, commitment to health and safety and sufficient wage levels.

“For those tenders within London’s boundary, we will make it clear that we fully support the London Living Wage.”

However, he said that legally the ODA could not make the London Living Wage, which is set at £7.05 an hour, a blanket condition for contractors.

Shiplee said that the Living Wage was being applied on work under way at the Olympic Park and that the same was the case for the demolition and remediation contracts already let. The ODA will monitor and publish data on the Living Wage as the project moves forward.

Shiplee was speaking yesterday at the tenth assembly celebrations of The East London Communities Organisation.

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