BRADFORD Council will soon pay all its staff the 'living wage' as a minimum, its leader has announced.

The move will give a pay rise to more than 2,000 of the authority's lowest-paid staff, including gardeners, cleaners, cooks, security guards, drivers and refuse workers.

Council leader David Green said he was "delighted" to be able to make the announcement, saying the change would come into effect this autumn.

He said it would not only benefit low-paid Council workers, but would also boost the health of local businesses.

"Most, if not all, of these staff will live in the Bradford district. By increasing the spending power, it will help the local economy," he said.

But Cllr Green said the authority would not be signing up to the Living Wage Charter as it was unable to commit to paying the rate forever.

The living wage, designed to provide a worker with the essentials for family life, is currently £7.85 per hour – around £15,300 a year.

Unlike the minimum wage, which is £6.50 per hour, it is not a legal requirement, but many councils across the UK have already agreed to pay all their workers the rate.

The change, if approved by the Full Council tomorrow, is set to cost the Labour-led authority around £1.6 million a year.

It is partly being funded by money which had been set aside for a nationally-set Council workers' pay rise, which was not as high as expected, leaving around £700,000 spare.

But the initiative will not include school staff or those working for firms contracted by the Council, such as homecare workers.

This already drawn concern from the Council's Liberal Democrat group, which has been campaigning for homecare workers to get a fairer deal.

Cllr Green said the local authority would be speaking to schools to try to introduce a similar move for them and would also be putting pressure on Council contractors to offer their employees the living wage too.

"We didn't exactly have the moral high-ground when we weren't paying the living wage ourselves," he added.

Trade unions have cautiously welcomed the announcement.

GMB branch secretary Gary Nesbitt said the move would help raise the standard of living of a large number members who were on a lower hourly rate.

But he added: "We do however have concerns about where the money is coming from to fund the proposal, and who exactly is eligible for this increase.

"It would be a false economy if the implementation is to cost jobs in real terms."