Pay | Waterstones hit by Living Wage furore

British book retailer Waterstones has revealed it cannot pay staff the Living Wage, as it simply isn’t ‘profitable enough’.

The news comes after a petition by staff at the retailer has been signed by more than 6,000 people, which calls on the firm’s Managing Director James Daunt to pay booksellers a starting Living Wage of £9 an hour, or £10.55 for the Greater London area.

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Employees stated in the petition that paying workers below the Living Wage would leave booksellers feeling stressed and preoccupied, The Guardian reported.

The petition read: “Working for a rate of pay that is below the Living Wage results in booksellers who are stressed, preoccupied and who have little spare time and energy to devote to buying books, reading them, and keeping up with news and trends in the industry – all of which activities are undertaken outside contracted hours, and which many staff consider to be (and are encouraged to view as) integral to their role.”