RETAIL giant Amazon is to increase its minimum wage to £10.50 an hour in London and £9.50 for other parts of the UK, the company has announced.
The new rates will lift pay by up to 28% in the London area and 18.8% elsewhere, and will benefit more than 17,000 permanent workers and 20,000 seasonal staff, said Amazon.
The company said workers will continue to receive benefits including paid breaks, private medical insurance and help with training fees.
But a share scheme will be phased out and replaced with a "direct stock purchase plan" before the end of 2019.
"We're excited to announce Amazon is raising our minimum wage for all full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary UK employees, effective from November 1," said Doug Gurr, Amazon vice president and UK country manager.
"This will impact more than 37,000 employees across the country, resulting in higher pay for them and their families."
The statutory living wage for adults is currently £7.83 an hour, while the voluntary "real" living wage is £10.20 an hour in London and £8.75 outside the capital.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Amazon is a trillion-dollar company. It can easily afford to pay staff higher wages.
"If Amazon is really serious about looking after its workforce it must recognise trade unions, and it must end the exploitative working practices."
Tim Roache, GMB general secretary, said: "I'm glad Amazon has heeded GMB union's long-standing calls to pay people, at the very least, the minimum they need to live – though given their owner is the richest man in the world you'd think he could see fit to dig a little deeper, but it's a start."
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