Cornwall holiday park teams with ABI to champion fair pay

Living wage campaigner and Cornwall holiday park owner Patrick Langmaid has sealed the deal on a £600,000 contract he awarded this summer to a like-minded supplier.

Patrick, who owns Mother Ivey’s Bay Holiday Park in Padstow, paid a visit to holiday home manufacturer ABI in July to inspect some of the 25 luxury caravans he has ordered.

The firm, based in Beverley near Hull, recently become the first Living Wage accredited manufacturer of leisure homes in the UK.

The decision to buy from ABI, said Patrick, was prompted entirely by its commitment to paying its 550 employees a fair wage.

Patrick has been a Living Wage employer since 2015, and earlier this year was presented with a special campaigning award by the Living Wage Foundation charity.

It celebrates his tireless efforts to promote the benefits which organisations, both large and small, can enjoy as a result of adopting the Living Wage.

“I firmly believe that those who work hard and show loyalty should be rewarded with a fair wage, and this this produces clear advantages for employers,” he said.

“I know from our experience that these dividends can be read into the balance sheet because we save on recruitment and re-training costs by retaining staff for longer.

“A committed workforce also goes the extra mile to ensuring that customers enjoy the best possible experience, and that in turn encourages repeat bookings,” said Patrick.

Welcoming Patrick to ABI’s factory was CEO Richard Jones who said he hoped that by becoming a living wage employer the firm would help set new standards across the industry.

The real Living Wage, which is based on the actual cost of living, is a step up from the Government’s National Living Wage, which was introduced in 2016.

It means that all of ABI’s employees, and those at Mother Ivey’s Bay Holiday Park, receive an hourly rate of at least £9.00.

The beachside holiday park provides caravan holiday homes, both privately owned and for hire, plus touring pitches. There is more information about the park at www.motheriveysbay.com