Tesco, Britain’s largest retailer, has disclosed a significant increase in the hourly wages of its store workers, reflecting the upward adjustment in the government-mandated minimum wage.
The retail titan announced on Tuesday that it would enhance its hourly base pay by 9.1 per cent following negotiations with the shopworkers’ union USDAW.
Effective from April, this initiative will elevate the hourly wage from $13.98 to $15.27, surpassing the government’s national living wage, which is poised to rise by 9.8 per cent to $14.53 per hour.
Employees based in London will receive even more substantial compensation, with an hourly rate of $16.71. The company projects that this wage hike will incur a cost exceeding $381 million.
The Bank of England is vigilantly monitoring wage settlements as it assesses the trajectory of interest rates, expressing apprehensions that rapid wage growth could exacerbate inflationary pressures across the economy.
Although worker wages in Britain have recently begun to outstrip inflation, which remained at 4 per cent in January—double the central bank’s target of 2 per cent.
Similarly, other prominent supermarket chains are also augmenting their workers’ pay.
Sainsbury’s, the second-largest supermarket group in Britain, disclosed a 9 per cent pay increase for its employees in January, raising the hourly rate to $15.25, effective from March.
Meanwhile, Asda, the third-largest player, recently unveiled an 8.4 per cent wage hike, elevating the hourly pay to $15.30, albeit this increment will not take effect until July.
Furthermore, several other retailers, including Marks & Spencer, Amazon, Aldi, Lidl, and Costa Coffee, have announced pay raises for 2024.
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