Fin24 reports that Woolworths wants to increase the hourly minimum wage paid to its store employees by almost 24% in the next two years.

The retailer will "invest" an additional R120 million to hike its base pay to store workers from R33.40 an hour to R41.25 by 2023, the company indicated in its annual report, which was released on Thursday. Currently, the minimum wage in SA is R21.69 per hour, and the minimum wage in the retail sector is R28.25. More than 20,000 store staff will benefit from the planned increase, which Woolworths believes will go a long way towards its aspirations to pay a "just wage". In its annual report, the company said there was a "critical need to close the remuneration gap in the context of the socio-economic environment in South Africa". Woolworths has received harsh criticism for its remuneration of executives, in particular of its previous CEO Ian Moir. He embarked on the disastrous takeover of the David Jones chain in Australia, but still received R77 million on his departure. Last year, Woolworths’ shareholders revolted in that investors representing almost 80% of shareholding in the company voted against implementing the company’s executive remuneration plan. The vote was non-binding, meaning Woolworths only needed to consult with shareholders about their concerns; but it was still entitled to pay out the remuneration.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Fin24

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