Britain’s Tesco raises store workers pay by 7%

Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer, will raise the hourly pay rate for store workers by 7% from April, another increase that will likely catch the attention of the Bank of England, which is worried about inflationary pressure in the economy.

The supermarket group, one of the country’s largest private sector employers, said store workers will get 11.02 pounds ($13.25) an hour from April 2, up from 10.30 pounds currently.

Tesco TSCO.L said the increase, a third in ten months, will cost it over 230 million pounds.

On Friday, Asda, Britain’s No. 3 supermarket chain, announced a 10% pay rise for its staff.

BoE Governor Andrew Bailey earlier this month expressed concerns about wage-setting, despite signs that the surge in inflation – which hit 11.1% in October before falling to 10.1% in January – had turned a corner.

(Reuters)