Morrisons first UK supermarket to pay staff £10 an hour basic rate

Morrisons has revealed it will become the first British supermarket to pay staff £10 an hour in a boost for 96,000 workers.

Retail trade union Usdaw negotiated a £10 an hour basic rate – up 80p on workers’ current minimum wage of £9.20.

It brings wages 50p an hour above the currently voluntary Living Wage Foundation rate, reported BBC News.

Other big supermarkets appear unlikely to increase their staff wages, despite coronavirus lockdown boosting sales.

Asda has justified the decision by saying looking only at hourly rates doesn’t tell a full story. 

Retail trade union Usdaw negotiated a £10 an hour basic rate – up 80p on workers’ current minimum wage of £9.20 (file image)

Meanwhile, Morrisons said the majority of its workers will enjoy a pay increase of nine per cent after a year of panic buying, lengthy queues and putting themselves at risk of contracting a deadly disease.  

The weekly pay of someone working 36.75 hours a week will increase from £330.10 to £367.50. 

The deal still has to go through union members for approval and the result is expected to be announced by February 12. If accepted, the new rates will be paid from April 5 this year.

Joanne McGuinness, Usdaw national officer, said: ‘For some time we have been talking to Morrisons about taking retail staff to £10 an hour, as we call for in our New Deal for Workers campaign. 

‘So I am delighted that we have agreed a rise that achieves that goal and takes staff well beyond the real living wage. 

A shopper wearing a face mask passes a cutout of a police officer in the window of a Morrisons store in south London

‘The new consolidated hourly rate is now the leading rate of the major supermarkets, which is paid every hour and removes the uncertainty of a bonus payment. It is a big step forward, shows that the company are prepared to invest in the staff to help grow the business and I hope that the deal is supported by our members in the ballot. 

‘It’s been a tough time for food retail staff who have worked throughout the pandemic in difficult circumstances. They provide the essential service of keeping the nation fed and deserve our support, respect and appreciation. Most of all they deserve decent pay and this offer is a welcome boost.’

Morrisons will pay a higher wage to its London-based workers – at 85p an hour more for inner London and 60p per hour more for outer London. This is up from 75p in inner London and 50p in outer London.  

David Potts, Morrisons chief executive said: ‘It’s a symbolic and important milestone that represents another step in rewarding the incredibly important work that our colleagues do up and down the country.’