THE Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, joined with her fellow northern metro mayors to begin development of a Fair Work Charter for the region.

Existing charters have been developed in Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region, dedicated to levelling-up through encouraging good pay, fair and flexible working conditions and promoting diversity and social mobility within the workforce.

Meeting at the University of Bradford yesterday, Ms Brabin, and mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram began discussions with West Yorkshire stakeholders to develop the charter and ensure maximum alignment across the north.

The resulting Fair Work Charter will be developed in the coming months by a dedicated steering group of key stakeholders.

The group will develop the criteria for membership of the West Yorkshire Charter, to ensure suitability for all types of employers in the region.

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority has committed up to £600,000 in principle over the next three years to develop and implement the charter.

Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, said: “In my Manifesto I committed to implementing a Fair Work Charter within my first year in office, and I am delighted to be able to take this agenda forwards and say that we are committed to launching a charter that promotes fair work in our region within six months.

"The charter will set the standards we expect for good work in West Yorkshire, reducing in-work poverty, boosting health and wellbeing, and promoting greater economic inclusion for disadvantaged groups and communities.

"Implementing the ambition of a charter also makes good business sense. We know the economic impact that promoting workforce diversity can have on a region including increased productivity and boosted revenue and innovation. For businesses committing to fair work it’s a win-win situation.

"It is vital that we get this right to aid economic recovery from the pandemic and levelling up for all.”

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “Greater Manchester was proud to launch its Good Employment Charter two years ago. We believe that economic progress and social progress go hand in hand and our charter is a key part of making that happen. The charter has already positively impacted over 230,000 employees in our city-region and is helping us in our ambitions to become the UK’s first Living Wage city-region.

"Devolution gives us the chance to do things differently and by working together I believe the north can become a beacon for good employment.”

Mayor of Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, said: “Fair pay and secure work in a safe and suitable workplace is the minimum that anyone should expect in this day and age.

“The pandemic has shown that, too often, too many workers doing vital work aren’t treated as well as they should be. It’s fantastic that Tracy is joining Andy and I in working to raise the bar.”