First Union launches 'Worth It' campaign to combat 'pay crisis' in retail sector

Wednesday, 11 April 2018

First Union is calling on the retailers to pay workers a living wage of $20.55 an hour.

First Union is calling on the retailers to pay their workers a living wage, not one which has many scraping by.

Retail, finance and commerce secretary Tali Williams said it was common for retail staff to be paid the minimum wage of $16.50, meaning most struggled to make ends meet.

Some workers could not afford to take their children to the doctor, and some had to decide between buying food or school uniforms, Williams said.

The industry was in the midst of a 'pay crisis' and something needed to be done about it, she said.

* Minimum wage set to jump to $20 by 2021**

First Union retail, finance and commerce secretary Tali Williams says the retail industry is in the midst of a 'pay crisis'.

First Union is launching its 'Worth It' campaign aimed at getting retailers to pay workers a living wage of $20.55 an hour, as well as giving them enough hours fo work to live on.

'A lot of retail workers are starting to say, after they see other workers starting to make a stand about pay, 'I actually deserve to be paid a wage that I can live on not just survive and barely scrape by on',' Williams said.

'It's not okay that a majority of retail workers are struggling. This is a booming market of which its employees cannot afford the necessities of life.'

'It's about valuing workers because they are worth it. They are human, it's about businesses acting in a humane way.'

First Retail Group managing director Chris Wilkinson said: 'The reality is most businesses would love to be able to do that, but it really is market-driven'.

'Generally, across the sector, there is a focus on reducing costs and the largest cost, of course, is staff, so it is a balance.

Retail is the one of the largest employers, accounting for almost 210,000 jobs, Wilkinson said.

If employers were forced to meet the living wage level, it could cost jobs, he said.

'Retailers may be able to do it, but they would do it on a lot less staff.

That would reduce employment opportunities for young people, he said.

In the United Kingdom rising minimum wages meant some large retailers were struggling to remain viable businesses, Wilkinson said.