Discount retailed Lidl has committed to paying its entire staff the living wage of €11.50 per hour. Some 20% of its staff, amounting to 700 of the 3800 employees, who are currently earning wages below the living wage, will start earning the living wage from 1 November onwards. The living wage is 30% above the national minimum wage, which is set at €8.65. Trade unions have welcomed the move, calling on other large employers to follow suit. However, not everyone has welcomed the pay rise, as farmers’ associations fear the increased staff wages will result in even more aggressive pricing towards producers.
English: http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2015/1008/733219-lidl-living-wage/
For more information, please contact the editor Jan Cremers, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) cbn-aias@uva.nl or the communications officer at the ETUI, Mariya Nikolova mnikolova@etui.org. For previous issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit http://www.etui.org/E-Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net.