CAERPHILLY Council wants to introduce a living wage for its council employees, a noble policy for good times.

Sadly, we are not in good times. We now have all councils facing cuts in services and perhaps job cuts. Is the Labour-controlled Caerphilly Council saying that the minimum wage which was introduced by the Labour government was not good enough? That every council employee should have a living wage which is a pay band higher? This is why Plaid MPs didn’t vote for the minimum wage in the first place, as it didn’t go far enough to take everybody out of working poverty. If the Labour government had followed Plaid’s advice, we would all be on a living wage and not just some public sector workers. The minimum wage needed to be propped up with working tax credits and now the Tories have reduced those payments. This policy will only create more financial problems for Caerphilly council and start a domino effect with other pay grades in the council workforce. It will also increase the pension bill for future administrations.

Andrew Thomas Nutt, Heolddu Road