// Morrisons reaches new deal to increase pay for store staff
// Morrisons new London rate is still lower than both Aldi and Lidl’s
Morrisons has said it will increase pay for its store and manufacturing staff to a minimum of £10.20 an hour, after reaching a new deal.
The grocer is set to increase the pay by 2% in its base rate, which it said made it the highest paying UK supermarket for store staff.
Morrisons will pay a London location supplement of 85p per hour to stores within the M25, taking the minimum rate of pay to £11.05.
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Morrisons new London rate is still lower than both Aldi and Lidl’s, who pay £11.55 and £11.30 respectively in London. Both discounters pay £10.10 an hour elsewhere in the country.
The new pay kicks in from October. The supermarket said it would represent an increase of more than 40% in its basic rate since 2014, when it stood at £6.83 an hour.
Morrisons also claims to be the first UK supermarket to have broken the £10 an hour barrier for store staff, 18 months ago.
“Following last year’s 8.7% pay increase for our customer assistants, Morrisons was the first UK supermarket to reach the £10 an hour mark, and we’re very pleased to be maintaining our position as the highest paying UK national supermarket,” Morrisons group people director Clare Grainger said.
“Today’s announcement recognises the important contribution our colleagues make in serving local communities up and down the country.”
The pay deal is subject to a ballot of Usdaw members which opened today and closes on 20 June.
Usdaw national officer Joanne McGuinness said: “Usdaw has negotiated an established rate of £10.20 per hour for Morrisons workers, which is the highest basic pay rate in the supermarket sector.
“We have also secured an established rate of £11.05 for staff within the M25, the same as the London living wage. Our members in Morrisons will now be balloted on the company’s offer.”
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