IKEA WILL BRING in a living wage for its entire Irish staff from next year as part of plans to offer “meaningful” pay to all workers.
The Swedish flat-pack furniture chain, which operates a single Irish outlet at Ballymun in Dublin, will start setting pay cheques based on the cost of living for employees in both the Republic and the UK.
Ikea UK and Ireland HR manager Pernille Hagild said that as a “values-driven organisation” the chain believed in “providing a meaningful wage to our co-workers that supports the cost of living no matter where they live”.
“We are committed to paying the living wage to our co-workers in Ireland by April 2016,” she said.
Over coming months we will work together with the relevant organisations and authorities in Ireland to secure this in the right way in the Irish market.”
It comes as the government weighs lifting the national minimum wage from €8.65 per hour after a likely recommendation from the new Low Pay Commission that the rate be increased 50c.
Business groups have complained that a rise will risk the economy’s “fragile” recovery, while unions say the proposed rise doesn’t go far enough. Ikea already pays above the minimum wage in Ireland with rates its hourly rates starting from €9.77.
The living wage
A consortium of unions and other campaigners have put the living wage for Ireland at €11.50 per hour, although it’s not yet known on what basis Ikea will calculate its rate.
However in the UK, where it became the first major retailer to commit to paying a living wage, it has said it would pay all 9,000 staff at least £7.85 (€11.28) per hour.
Ikea said the rate for London would be £9.15 (€13.14) per hour to cover the higher cost of living.
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