Rangers to pay employees the living wage

The Ibrox club will pay all employees the living wage. Picture: John Devlin

The Ibrox side will pay all employees at least £8.25 per hour, the current living wage at present.

Hearts became the first Scottish football club to sign up to the Scottish Government’s Living Wage scheme last year.

Celtic fans have tried at three successive AGMs to convince the Parkhead club to follow suit, but the board have thus far resisted their wishes.

While Rangers have not signed up to the official scheme, they will pay their employees the same rate.

King confirmed in a statement: “The one issue that was raised at the meeting yesterday and that I was not aware of when I came in during the course of this week was the whole living wage issue.

“I sent Stewart Robertson an email about one o’clock on Thursday morning and said I heard about the living wage issue, is this something that affects Rangers?

“He gave me a report and I took it to the board yesterday and the board has now approved that Rangers will in fact provide the living wage.

“It is a great thing and I think all the board members expect that it is the right way forward, we all agreed it is absolutely right and it should be what Rangers are doing and it is what we will do.

“It will be implemented immediately, the decision was made for it to come into effect straight away and we will continue to maintain that.

“I wasn’t aware there was a living wage issue, it came up in a discussion and I asked what it was and it’s something I expect in South Africa because we have that concept but I didn’t think it existed in Scotland.”

• Hearts become official living-wage employer