The billionaire owners of Asda have given a five per cent pay rise to workers across their forecourt business.
EG Group, founded by Mohsin and Zuber Issa, has increased the pay of over 10,000 employees across the country.
However, the move could be virtually wiped out by inflation, which is expected to reach four per cent during the winter.
From October, EG staff over 18 will be paid at least £9.50 an hour.
READ MORE: Issa Brothers’ EG Group acquires 52 KFC sites
This is almost £3 more than the minimum wage for 18 to 20-year olds, £1.14 more for 21 to 22 year olds, 59p more for those over 22.
EG’s “more experienced” employees, such as team leaders, will be paid at least £10 an hour.
“Our colleagues have pulled out all the stops and been nothing short of heroic during often very difficult times since the start of the pandemic,” the Issas said in a joint statement.
“It is due to their hard work and dedication that EG has continued to be a growth business.”
The brothers, who own Britain’s third-biggest supermarket and are worth a collective £3.56 billion, have proved controversial with their finances in the past.
In 2020, a Mail on Sunday investigation found that, thanks to its debt-fuelled expansion, EG had paid just £55 million in tax on the back of £37.5 billion revenue over five years.
The Issas control EG and Asda through a parent company based in a Jersey tax haven.
Click here to sign up to Grocery Gazette’s free daily email newsletter
