TESCO IRELAND are thanking their staff for their hard work during these immensely challenging times by upping their pay by 10%.
The bonus will be backdated to Monday, 9 March and will last until at least the start of May when the situation will be reviewed again in light of the situation regarding coronavirus, lockdown and social distancing measures.
As it stands, grocery stores are among the last businesses in Ireland to still be operating as usual, with most companies working from home or closing completely-- such as McDonald's, which will close all of its restaurants this evening for an indefinite period of time.
Tesco's workers remain on the frontlines as demand rises, with staff subjected to customers panic buying and, at times, not following guidelines relating to social distancing.
Tesco Ireland announced the news in a statement where they praised their staff for their "incredible effort".
The statement reads:
"Over the last two weeks Tesco colleagues across Ireland have worked round the clock to help customers get the products that they need.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an unprecedented increase in demand for food and household products in stores and online across Ireland.
"In recognition of their incredible effort, and recognising the challenges that lie ahead, Tesco Ireland has today announced that it will be giving a 10% bonus on the hourly rate to colleagues in work across its stores and distribution.
"Backdated to Monday 9 March, colleagues who are currently in work will receive an adjustment in their pay to reflect this until 1 May, when we will review the situation."
Kari Daniels, CEO of Tesco Ireland said: “It’s been an unprecedented couple of weeks and despite the enormous challenges, it’s been incredible to see how colleagues have stepped up and responded, doing an outstanding job.
"This pay bonus is just one way we are saying thank you to our colleagues and recognising that they are on the front-line, helping to serve Ireland’s shoppers during these uncertain and difficult times.”
Grocery stores across the nation, including Aldi and Lidl, have appealed for workers to join their teams as their stores get busier while hundreds of thousands of other bar and retail staff have been laid off.
