Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig has announced that every organisation awarded money from the city region’s £2 billion Good Growth Fund must sign up to its Good Employment Charter, tying public investment directly to fair pay, secure work and decent conditions.
Craig made the announcement in a speech marking the start of Good Employment Week, which runs until Friday. The requirement will sit within a wider Good Growth Contract, under which funded projects will also be expected to create skills and apprenticeship opportunities, use local supply chains, meet environmental standards and deliver wider community benefits.
Craig: ‘This is what we mean’
“When I became Mayor, I said that I would measure success by if people felt better off and more optimistic about their lives,” Craig said. “For too long people have felt that they aren’t feeling the benefits of a growing Greater Manchester economy in their pockets, but we’re changing that.”
“That is why I am making sure that every penny of public money spent from our Good Growth Fund goes to responsible employers that share our values of fairness, dignity and opportunity, and will support people into well-paid, secure jobs,” she said. “When we say we’re delivering good growth, this is what we mean.”
More than £1 billion already allocated
The fund, which Craig calls a new economic model pioneered in Greater Manchester, launched last November. Its latest round in September earmarked £163 million for housing, transport and innovation projects, taking total allocations beyond £1 billion.
First launched in 2019, the Good Employment Charter promotes fair pay, secure and flexible work, career progression and a good workplace culture. It is now backed by 2,500 employers, and more than three million people across the country work for organisations that have signed up.
This year’s Good Employment Week focuses on workplace culture under the question “What does your work feel like?”, with residents invited to describe their working lives through a live online word cloud. Craig, who took office as Mayor in August, has made whether people feel better off the central test of her approach to growth.
