Morrisons to pay shop floor staff more than Osborne's living wage
Morrisons is to increase pay for 90,000 shop floor staff to £8.20 an hour from March – above the living wage calculated by independent campaigners.
The pay rise – a hefty 20% increase from Morrisons’ current minimum wage for shop floor staff of £6.83 an hour – will apply to staff of all ages. That puts Morrisons well ahead of George Osborne’s “national living wage” of £7.20 an hour, which comes into force for over-25s from April.
Morrisons said the move, which would involve changes to some benefits including the end of extra pay for Sundays, would cost £40m. “We guarantee no worker will be worse off,” a spokesman said.
The deal, negotiated with shopworkers’ union Usdaw, will be subject to a workers’ vote on 12 November.
David Potts, chief executive of Morrisons, said: “We have been listening to our colleagues who told us they want their pay to be more competitive and simpler. By paying a significantly higher hourly rate, we are recognising the contribution of our excellent staff, who are so important to the revival of Morrisons.”
The increase, which makes Morrisons the highest payer of the UK’s four biggest supermarkets, comes after German discounter Lidl agreed this month to sign up to the living wage campaign and pay 9,000 staff at least £8.20 an hour.
