SSE Airtricity to introduce living wage for all staff

A large corporate has said it is become the first major firm in Ireland to guarantee the living wage to all its staff.

SSE Airtricity will introduce the new wage from the first of January, meaning no employee will earn less than €11.50.

The move will affect just over 60 of the firm's 750 employees in Ireland.

Managing director Stephen Wheeler has said he hopes other large firms will follow suit.

“We think right now, having done the analysis and grown our business over the last number of years, now is right time to do it,” said Wheeler.

“That’s again supported by our staff. 61 people impacted from the first of January is a big deal for any company.

“As a corporate we need to set the standard going forward and we believe we are doing that now.”