(HuffingtonPost) - The latest sign that the tide is turning in favour of better pay for low-wage workers: Walmart's CEO on Wednesday announced the company's intention eventually to abandon the minimum wage.
Walmart chief executive Douglas McMillon told reporters after an investor conference that the company plans to pay all of its workers at a rate higher than the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour. He did not say how much more.
"It is our intention over time that we will be in a situation where we don't pay minimum wage at all," McMillon said, according to multiple sources. The move to pay all Walmart employees more than the minimum wage would be largely symbolic: McMillon said less than 1 percent of Walmart's U.S. employees currently make the minimum wage.
Such an intention is particularly notable coming from the CEO of Walmart, which is the union's largest private employer, and one that is often accused of paying its workers low wages.
Walmart has disputed such claims, saying its average hourly pay is $12.92, which is significantly higher than the federal minimum. That calculation, however, does not include the wages of its part-time workers.
The announcement came as hundreds of Walmart workers and other low-wage retail and fast-food employees protested on Wednesday and Thursday in four cities, demanding full-time jobs and a minimum wage of $15 an hour. Full Story
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