SSE’s network business, SHE Transmission, has extended the organisation’s living wage contract to cover employees and contractors at engineering organisation ABB.
Around 600 staff and contractors will be paid at least the living wage of £7.65 per hour and £7.85 from April 2015.
This living wage contract, which is worth £460 million, is part of the Caithness to Moray Transmission Project, the subsea link which will allow more renwable energy to join up to the network in the north of Scotland. Construction of the work is expected to be completed in 2018.
Alistair Phillips-Davies, chief executive of SSE, said: “SSE is proud to play its part when it comes to being a responsible business and one which helps build a fairer and more prosperous Scotland.
“The new Caithness to Moray contract will make sure hundreds of workers on site will get a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work and reflects our commitment to being a responsible employer.”
Peter Kelly, director of The Poverty Alliance, said: “We welcome this announcement from SSE, which demonstrates that even in large-scale contracts it is possible to pay workers the living wage.
“The living wage in Scotland is now gaining genuine momentum with employers. The number of employers paying it here has tripled from 20 to 70 since April.”
SSE was accredited as a living wage employer in 2013.
