SINN Féin Foyle MLA Raymond McCartney has welcomed the decision by Lidl to reverse their decision and include employees in Derry and across the North in their pay increase to meet the Living Wage Foundations recommendations.
Raymond McCartney said: “While Lidl has to be commended for the introduction of a Living Wage Foundation recommendation of £8.20 per hour, it was disappointing that workers employed by Lidl here were not originally included.
“A rate of £8.20 per hour is the basic rate of pay required for a worker to be able to have a decent standard of living.
“The poverty rate proposed by the British Tory party of £6.70 falls well short of that and the perilous situation for under 25s is absolutely scandalous.
“I welcome the decision by Lidl to now reconsider that position and bring equality to all its employees.
“As the cost of living in the North is higher than that of England, Scotland and Wales it is important that companies don’t see workers here as different to their employees in Britain.
“This u-turn by Lidl highlights the positive benefits that trade union membership can bring for workers in the private sector and I commend Unite the Union for the efforts in dealing with this issue for retail workers.
“I will continue to support workers and campaign for more companies to pay their workers a proper living wage.”