Everton become only the second Premier League club to pay real living wage

Well done, Everton FC – typical and worthy of more than a passing comment by local media.

Given the vast quantities of money swilling about in the game, and the greed and shameful headlines that go with it, its a travesty that this piece of news isn't being reported on at a national level – but not surprising.

As a matter of interest, do we know who the other Premier club is?

Proud to be an Evertonian – always.

According to The Guardian, the other club is Chelsea.

Everton the trail blazers again. Seriously, it's easy to be cynical, but we deserve real credit for this. It is the right thing to do, but rarely to organisations do the moral thing.

Are the other shower across the park going to follow suit? Doubt it. All kinds of local MP's were publicly outing them as they refused to pay the 'living wage' a few years back. They want their fans to finance future ground development through ticket hikes as that's their 'business model' to repay the loans they take out to fund it; said openly. So I doubt their business model includes not exploiting zero hour contract workers for all they're worth?

Well done Everton. Continuing to make us proud; it's our club, our family. I know we all can't be the decision makers, but thank you to those who are for making the right ones on our behalf.

Another good decision, for me.

Great decision and far deeper than Moneybags Bale's 𧼐k-a-week deal.

This is as important, if not more so, than any good result on the pitch. It shows the club is an aware, caring employer and means what it says about being embedded in the community. I suspect Bill Kenwright has had a lot to do with this. The People's Club in every sense of the word.

While this decision is to be welcomed, it's something they & all employers should be doing and it's shameful we haven't been doing so until now.

Proud of Everton for at least being among the first and the fairest again – even if it is long overdue.

But shameful that, with particularly the higher levels of the game literally awash with money, football is again so out of touch with life at large and deliberately lagging so far behind.

Great game. Despicable, vile, greedy people.

The other clubs are Chelsea, Derby, Hearts and Luton.

Contracting out labour services has for more than 20 years been cynically used as a means of cutting pay and benefits, with the 'middle man' keeping a slice of the savings for himself – one of the abuses in a free market economy, and something post-Brexit we are likely to see much more of without the protection of EU legislation.

Everton deserve great credit for this step. Premier League clubs can't bleat about having to respond to a competitive environment, as may of the big retailers do for example, and the club are again living up to the values of the founders.

I now look to our neighbours with their shiny new stand... How about following suit and paying the men and women who make it function for you a fair day's pay for a fair day's work?

All credit to Everton for doing the right thing - I trust this will apply equally to all staff, whether employed directly by the club or indirectly via a third party.

What makes you think workers' rights will be eroded by leaving the EU, Peter (#9)? Many of the protections employees enjoy in this country go beyond the minimum demanded by the EU, so there's no reason to assume that leaving the EU will erode workers' rights.

In fact, once free of EU control, I hope we see more action taken to address some of the sharp practices you mention, as seems to be starting to happen with Uber. Too many employers are effectively getting a subsidy for their employees' wages via tax-payer funded benefits that most people working full-time shouldn't need to claim if they were paid the real living wage.

Good morning Dennis(10),
With the benefit of hindsight it was probably not wise to make a political point on a website forum intended to be about all things Everton, but having said that ,you have asked me a question, and out of courtesy, I owe you an answer. If we then don't agree then I suggest we agree to disagree and return to discussing our beloved. Agreed?

Once Article 50 has been triggered, I believe there is a very real danger that many forms of rights in this country , which some of us take for granted,will come under sustained attack from some quarters. Some, I emphasise SOME, Brexiteers, particularly the neo-cons on the right of the Tory Party, and I suspect all of UKIP, despise what they regard as liberal, soft left law making which has taken place over the entire period of our EU membership, often sponsored and championed by other EU states before becoming EU law.

All sorts of laws, from equal pay, to parental rights, the rights of organised labour and many more, started out being nurtured in Brussels. Do you remember the stink kicked up when the minimum wage was first introduced in UK in the late 90's? The end of the world was nigh!I 'm thinking of people like Liam Fox, John Redwood, Dominic Raab, Jacob Rees-Mogg. There are many of them. They use terms that most of us would find difficult to argue with. "we want to reclaim our sovereignty" " we want to cut back on EU sponsored red tape"...that sort of stuff. The problem is ,red tape to one man is another man's protection.

What these people REALLY want to do is get cracking on repealing the types of laws they despise, and they can't do it whilst we are in the EU. They don't make any secret of the fact.Only recently, it was suggested by the PM that as part of the exit process , we should first enshrine EU law into UK law, and then, having taken back 'our sovereignty' all future legislation can reflect what this country, and this country alone, wishes to enact. These people mentioned above were beside themselves . That is nowhere near good enough for them.They don't just want control of the future, they want to unwind the past.

They are now in positions of power, and for this reason I expressed concern, and I think they are very real, about a marked shift to the right in this country's law making post-brexit. I respect your view if you don't agree with me.
Back to Everton?

Very commendable from Everton FC.

How the hell they got all them players to agree to the living wage is beyond me!!

Peter (#11) – I agree that we shouldn't be complacent, but also believe any Conservative Government taking the route you envisage would struggle to maintain a majority – and they've barely got one now.

Not all of the claims you make are correct, either. For example, the Equal Pay Act dates back to 1970 – before Ted Heath traded our fishing industry for membership of the "Common Market".

At least we will have a democratic right to change our law makers once free of the European Union. Maybe, just maybe, we can be optimistic about the future for both the UK & EFC!

Peter & Dennis, not wishing to digress, but with respect to triggering of Article 50, it is a case of 'if and when' rather than 'when'. There is no guarantee that Article 50 will be triggered, there being a case currently under review by the High Court as to whether Parliament is required constitutionally to vote on whether the UK leaves the EU (following the June Brexit vote which was advisory).

"For more than a century, the Catholic Church has championed the causes of just wages and dignity at work, so workers can not only support their family, but also lead a fulfilling life both in and outside the workplace."

That paragraph should have been omitted from the post: a) it's political and b) it's a lie. Read up on the Spanish civil war, or look at Latin America and the Philippines to see what the church thinks of poverty while it is the richest organisation on the planet.

Further to @15, the High Court has indeed today ruled that Parliament must decide. As such, the Government cannot use the Royal Prerogative to trigger Article 50. This underlines that the UK might not in fact exit the EU.

Peter Morris. This has nothing to do with Everton FC and has no place here. Apart from that, you are spot on mate! (And I hope this morning's ruling provides new momentum for the UK to remain in the EU.)

I know this thread is about Everton paying the living wage, but I would just like to comment on the England team wearing poppies.

Why was it that the first time we wore poppies on England shirts was against Spain in 2011? I know it's to commemorate men and woman who died during the different wars, but how come that from 1945 till 2011 nobody bothered about wearing poppies on sporting shirts? So why, all of a sudden, the need to wear poppies when we haven't bothered for nearly 60 years???

Brian, good question. Some might answer that not everyone who wears a poppy does so sincerely, and that the media prominence of some issues is driven by social pressure and political fashion.