How much does Costco Canada pay?

Answer 1

You start at $11.50 per hour and get 50 cent/1 dollar raises every 800/1040 hours, both respectively all the way up to $18 per hour, then $19.50, then $21.85 is B Scale top rate, $23.65 A Scale (Cash, Forklift, etc.) $3000 annual bonus at 11,000 hours plus 80 - 100 percent benefits for full time, 50 - 80 for part time.

Canada, 2012.

Answer 2

The pay rate for a Service Assistant is not as generous in the UK as it is in Costco in the United States. Whereas you may expect to start at several dollars above minimum wage in the U.S. - the starting wage is just at (or slightly above) minimum wage in the UK. You could say that there is no need to buy health coverage in the UK, but the discrepancy in pay rates between the two countries demonstrates a fundamental difference in class values between the two countries. Jim Sinegal once stated, "workers… [are] entitled to

buy homes and live in reasonably nice neighborhoods and send their children to school…" and that, "One of the strengths of our nation has always been a strong middle class who could afford their own homes and send their children to school."

The nation that Jim is referring to is that of the United States. What it means to be middle class in the US, and what it means to be middle class in the UK I suspect is different. The concept of ownership and entitlement are different in each country. For example, U.S. Costco workers can elect to purchase Costco stock at a reduced rate - that option is not even on the table in the UK. The margin above minimum wage in the U.S. allows for such a scheme. It would be interesting to compare employee turnover figures for Costco in the UK and in the US - it may reflect a different level of loyalty to the company.

The Costco ethos is similar in both countries (promotion from within, emphasis on integrity, etc.), and Costco in the UK has met some resistance from the traditional retail sector. Jeffrey Brotman comented on UK wage structure as follows (1993): "Wage rates are extraordinarily low compared to the very, very high profits structure, for example, in the supermarket business" The supermarket business has resisted Costco's entrance to the UK, but Costco still managed to establish themselves anyway - but at what cost? I wonder if adopting a UK wage structure is one way in which Costco has had to adapted to the UK.

Costco still pays a competitive salary, but I don't see very many Costco employees sending their kids to (tuition paying?) schools, and many of them probably do own their own homes, but what a reasonably nice neighborhood means is subjective. Home ownership probably had more to do with Thatcher than with a "middle class" wage. Still a great company, and I wouldn't bet against them - they are the best at what they do - and adapting to local laws and customs is part of that. Costco is a company that respects the law, even when the laws are skewed against them. This is a great and respected American company - a rare combination these days.

Costco is, of course, a more international company than ever before - and I can only speak to US and UK wages with this company in general.