Lidl just became the first British supermarket to pay the living wage.
It’s good news: over 5,500 people will see their pay leap to £8.45 per hour, and £9.75 in London.
That’s the minimum a person needs to live on. But other big supermarkets -- Asda, Aldi, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose -- still don’t pay staff enough to get by. Lidl has shown it can be done, so there’s no excuse.
Supermarkets are in fierce competition for shoppers, and they can’t stand being outdone by rivals. If they see fair wages matter to thousands of us, they’ll hate being embarrassed by Lidl. We can convince them it’s in their interests to match Lidl on the living wage, if we, their customers, come together.
Asda, Aldi, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose: pay the living wage of £8.45 per hour, or £9.75 in London, and pledge to keep paying the living wage in future.
These companies are national giants, with sprawling empires of shops across our high streets. Some have expanded into all sorts: banking, insurance, mobiles -- you name it. They’re big enough to afford paying the living wage.
The big supermarkets employ swathes of people all over country. So if we win this together, it’ll be a mega boost to people on low incomes just before Christmas. And we can win this.
There’s been bidding wars on wages between supermarkets before. When Lidl announced a similar increase last year, Aldi and Morrisons followed its lead. Even Tesco’s felt forced to go above the legal minimum. Let’s spark that off again together, and this time get a proper living wage for thousands.
Add your name to the petition to get the big supermarket chains to pay fairly. Letting workers struggle and paying people too little should be a thing of the past.
More information
Lidl becomes first supermarket to pay workers Living Wage
The Independent. 24 November 2016.
The Independent. 24 November 2016.