Lidl is to become the first big employer in Ireland to commit to paying the Living Wage of €11.50 an hour.
The discount retailer, which has 143 stores around the country, said the move will benefit the 20% of its staff currently earning below this rate as all its other staff already earn more than €11.50 an hour.
About 700 of the company’s 3,800 staff will benefit from the plan.
Lidl said the measure will be introduced from November 1.
The Living Wage is an independently assessed and measured rate of income considered necessary to have a socially acceptable standard of living, and is 30% higher than the current minimum wage which is €8.65 an hour.
“We are delighted to be the first major nationwide employer to champion the Living Wage in Ireland,” commented John Paul Scally, Managing Director at Lidl Ireland.
“Already 80% of our team earn in excess of the living wage, however it is important for us to ensure that those whose hourly pay falls below €11.50 benefit from a substantial increase. This would bring them to a level that is more reflective of enjoying a better standard of living,” he added.
Irish Farmers’ Association president Eddie Downey, however, said the pay rise for Lidl staff would ring hollow in the minds of farmers and suppliers to supermarkets.
Mr Downey said: “Everyone was entitled to a living wage, but not at the expense of someone else in the supply chain. Would Lidl like to tell its customers what they are going to do to ensure that farmers and others supplying them will get a living wage?”