The Archbishop of York 
has condemned the low 
pay of millions of Britons 
as a national scandal and criticised the Coalition Government and business leaders for allowing the 
situation to proliferate.

John Sentamu, who will chair a year-long commission on the feasibility of a so-called Living Wage, which campaigners argue should replace the national minimum rate, said successive governments have offered little more than a sticking-plaster solution to the crisis.

The archbishop accused businesses of forgetting the "basic moral imperative that employees be paid enough to live on", and called for business, trade unions and government to take part in a national conversation about low pay in Britain.

Adoption of the Living Wage, which is £7.45 an 
hour outside London 
and £8.55 in the capital, compared with the minimum wage of £6.19 for 
adults and £4.98 for those aged 18 to 20, would give millions of people on poor wages hope, he said.

Dr Sentamu attacked successive governments for standing by as company bosses rewarded themselves with huge pay packages while employees struggled with low wages.

He questioned why government watched on, only to later help the lowest earners with money from 
the state.

He said: "So far, all 
governments have been merely applying a sticking plaster to the crisis of low pay. The holes in millions 
of pay cheques are being plugged by in-work support to the tune of £4bn a year.

"But why aren't those 
who are profiting from their workers paying up? Why is government having to 
subsidise businesses which don't pay their employees enough to live on?

"These are questions we need to answer and act on –fast. The cost of living is rising, but wages are not.

The archbishop 
continued: "In the rush for profit, and for high pay at 
the top, too many companies have forgotten the basic moral imperative that employees be paid enough to live on."

Dr Sentamu said low pay affected more women than men, and warned of a stall in closing the gender gap in the workplace if it continues.

"The consequences for 
so many people and their families are devastating", he said. "Women, as the majority of low-paid workers in this country, are hit particularly hard.

"Low pay threatens the great strides that have been made in gender equality in recent decades, because it undermines women's economic independence.

"This is a huge loss for them and for society as a whole."

The archbishop said the time had come to build fairer workplaces.

He said politicians from Prime Minister David Cameron to Labour leader Ed Miliband and London mayor Boris Johnson had backed the concept, but that "what workers really need 
is pay, not platitudes".