Supermarket workers get a $ 2 hourly raise

A worker at a Countdown supermarket says that a new raise will make a big difference for many of his colleagues.

Around 7000 unionized workers from the supermarket chain have received their first payment under a collective agreement signed last November, which will pay workers with 12 months of service a minimum of $ 21.15 an hour, the “living wage. ” from last year.

First Union said that for many workers, the settlement would increase their wages by nearly $ 2 an hour. Non-unionized workers will receive their raise in December.

Isaac Mullin, shop steward and deputy department chair at Countdown Fielding, said that after eight years on the job, the increase was personally very satisfying.

But the impact on the overall workforce would be even greater.

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“I know that for many people, this means more time with their families and more money to spend on them,” he said.

“So many people have been telling me over the last few days that they didn’t realize that it was going to be such a huge increase in their salary that it would make a huge difference.”

First Union’s secretary for retail and financial workers, Tali Williams, said union members at Countdown stores would now receive the highest salary, on average, of all supermarket workers in New Zealand.

However, many non-union workers at New World and Pak’n’Save, owned by Foodstuffs, were still paid the minimum wage for most entry-level positions, he said.

” Even in unionized stores, the fight for better wages and conditions always happens store by store rather than as labor.

“The pandemic has highlighted how dependent we are on our essential workers and the new pay scales come into effect at a time when retaining and valuing our supermarket staff is more important than ever.”