One of the most famous and largest employers of labor in the world is Walmart. It is also one of the public traded corporations in the US that wield a powerful influence on the lives of Americans.
At least one in a hundred employed individuals work at Walmart, which is why when the corporation adjusts its take-home pay, a ripple effect is felt among its competitors. Such a move by Walmart compels the other employers to change their policies as well in order to entice workers.
But when Walmart publicized the fact that it would increase the minimum wages of all their workers along with fat bonuses, thanks to the recent tax cut, it was just a matter of time before it began spinning off news channels.
Walmart announced the pay raise as well as the bonuses attached to all its employees on Thursday. Minimum wage is now $11 per hour. Advocates of the tax law had always believed that the action would be of immense benefits to workers.
But there appears to be a hidden agenda behind the raise in wages and bonuses by Walmart. Some groups of people wonder whether or not the new law made all the difference. Is it possible that America’s most significant retailer would have hiked up its worker pay and appropriate bonuses without the tax cut?
A quick look at Walmart’s recent history indicates that it had steadily been increasing the wages of its workers long before the commercial tax cut. Early 2015, Walmart announced its first move to raise its employees’ wages to $9 per hour. Another increase in minimum wage occurred in 2016 to $10; therefore, this most recent increase is merely a continuation of the trend it kick-started three years ago.
The real reason for America’s largest employer of labor – apart from the freeing up of about $1 billion, thanks to the tax law – appears to be a competitive ploy to ensure that their workers keep working for them. With such a pay raise, their employees would stay put, and with about 6000,000 hourly employees, it appears that this move by Walmart is not only timely but reasonable.
Other benefits that workers at Walmart stand to enjoy include:
• Ten weeks’ maternity leave with full pay for full-time members of staff
• Six weeks’ parental leave with full pay for spouses of newborns
• About $5,000 for couples/employees who want to adopt a youngster
These benefits are more than enough to prevent any sane employee from leaving Walmart. Of course, the weak economy offers Walmart a lot of options regarding workers; they would have to keep fighting for employees. The wage hike was received positively by Walmart’s workers and with excitement, created a group within themselves called ‘Our Walmart.’
No doubt, this move by Walmart met with some criticism, though the significant impact the wage increase has on its employees should not be understated. Undoubtedly, Walmart still sets the pace and the rhythm for both employment and retail in other places.
The bosses at Walmart only looked at the dividend created by the tax cut and went on to deliberate on what it could do for its employees. Perhaps, this is more than a good enough reason for the wage hike. Whichever it is, employees at Walmart will give broad smiles at that pay raise they so much deserve.