Aldi UK raises pay for warehouse workers

LONDON (Reuters) - The British arm of German discounter Aldi will increase pay rates for around 7,000 warehouse workers from next month, a third rise since January 2022, it said on Wednesday.

From Feb. 1 warehouse workers will receive a minimum rate of 13.18 pounds ($16.28) an hour, up from 11.48 pounds last January.

Many UK employers are offering higher pay deals in the face of a still tight labour market and the escalating cost of living.

Inflation in Britain is running at 10.5% and the Bank of England is watching pay settlements closely as it mulls further rises in interest rates.

Aldi UK, Britain's fourth largest supermarket group after Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda, said it has invested over 100 million pounds in pay over the last 12 months.

From this month it is paying store staff a minimum of 11 pounds an hour outside of London and a minimum of 12.45 pounds in the capital.

Earlier this month Sainsbury's announced another pay rise for its store staff, while Tesco is in talks with workers and unions on its pay review.

($1 = 0.8097 pounds)

(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Sarah Young)