(Reuters) – Retailer Costco Wholesale will increase wages to more than $ 30 for the most of the American store employees, according to a memo that was sent to employees this week.
The company will increase the hourly wage for its top employees in the next three years, with the wage increase by $ 1 to $ 30.20 in the first year and an extra $ 1 each in the following two years, according to the memo.
The wage increase comes after members of Costco Teamsters Union said earlier this month that they voted for a national strike when they entered the last round of conversations to reach a new contract prior to a deadline of 31 January.
The trade union, which represents more than 18,000 employees at Costco, said when 85% of its members voted to authorize a strike.
The bottom of the scale employees also get an increase of 50 cents to $ 20, according to the memo.
“With these changes we believe that our hourly wages and benefits will continue to surpass others in the retail trade,” the company said in the memo signed by CEO Ron Vachris.
(Reporting by rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Edit by Subhranshu Sahu)
