Supermarket staff to get 1% pay rise

The 220,000 people who work in supermarkets are to get a 1% pay rise from July 2010, according to the terms of the new pay deal agreed between employers and unions on Wednesday evening.

In addition, an independent organisation will be set up to monitor if other agreements on age discrimination are being kept.
Union research earlier this year showed supermarket staff on temporary contracts are often replaced by younger, cheaper staff.
The organisation will also look at the way supermarket staff are often expected to work on past closing time even though this ‘clean up quarter of an hour’ is unpaid, FNV union spokesman Arie van der Pijl said.