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Workers on the Living Wage are to get a 40p an hour boost – giving them £1.05 MORE than George Osborne’s sham version.

Today’s announcement highlights the huge gulf between the Living Wage, calculated by independent experts, and the Chancellor’s desperate attempts to rebrand the minimum wage as the “National Living Wage”.

Outside London, the Living Wage is climbing to £8.25 from £7.85 with up to 70,000 workers set to benefit by April.

The capital’s current rate is £9.15 and Mayor of London Boris Johnson will announce the new figure today.

Revealing the pay boost, Living Wage­ Foundation director Sarah Vero said: “Work should be the surest way out of poverty. The Living Wage is good for people and for business.”

The Living Wage is adopted by employers voluntarily and is the sum needed for a decent standard of living.

Mr Osborne’s version will be just £7.20 from April and is not adjusted for people working in London.

It will be compulsory for employers but will only apply to workers over-25 – many of whom will be hit by the Tories’ £4.4billion raid on tax credits.

The current minimum wage is £6.70 for people aged 21 and over.

Statistics have revealed nearly half a million more Brits are earning less than the real Living Wage compared to a year ago, taking the total to nearly six million. And the number trapped on low pay is expected to rise to 6.5 million next year, according to think-tank the Resolution Foundation.

Unilever, Lloyds Banking Group and Richer Sounds will today be named as the latest UK firms to buck the trend by paying the Living Wage.

Tim Munden, Unilever’s human resources director, said: “We believe it is right to raise the floor on wages.”

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The latest developments came as research from professional services firm KPMG showed part-time workers are three times more likely to be paid below the Living Wage.

Women are worst hit, with 29% earning less than the Living Wage – compared with 18% of men.

And a shocking 70% of 18 to 21-year-olds are paid less than the rate.

KPMG’s Mike Kelly said: “There is still more to be done if we are to ­eradicate in-work poverty.

“For some time it was easy for businesses to hide behind the argument that increased wages hit their bottom line, but there is ample evidence to suggest the opposite – in the shape of higher retention and productivity.”