BOLTON Council is closely watching a move by Manchester City Council to introduce a minimum wage for its staff.

A vote will be held by Manchester councillors on whether to set the authority’s base wage at £6.74-an-hour.

The rate would be £1.01 above the national minimum wage of £5.73.

And Bolton Council chiefs say that, if the scheme is a success, they may look to emulate Manchester’s lead.

Cllr Cliff Morris, leader of the council, said: “This is certainly a policy that interests me greatly.

“The fact is, paying people a decent wage is good for the economy.

“We have already been looking at these sorts of policies, for example, London’s living wage.

“I shall be looking at Manchester’s approach in some depth.”

The city council says up to 850 employees could benefit from what is being dubbed the “Manchester minimum wage”.

If approved, Manchester would become the first local authority outside London to introduce its own minimum wage, higher than the national average.

Almost 250 workers at Bolton Council could benefit if a minimum wage was created in the town.

However, the lowest paid staff, who make up two per cent of council employees, are already paid more than the national minimum at £6.19 an hour.

And Cllr Morris said that the council was already increasing wages.

He said: “We have recently increased salaries for those on low incomes through the pay and grading exercises.

“In the current climate, we have to assess what we can do in light of the council’s finances.”

Martin Challender, spokesman for the union Unison in Bolton, said: “We will be keeping an eye on what happens in Manchester and the progress they make. We are interested in anything that aims to benefit workers.”

However, the opposition is urging a cautious approach. Cllr John Walsh, leader of the Conservatives in Bolton, said: “We need to look at this carefully. If we go down this route it questions the pay and grading review.

“Also, there would be consequences for council tax. There needs to be caution at this difficult time.”