'Rich' Starbucks paying staff just 25 pence an hour in new Indian cafes
London, Nov. 11 (ANI)
Coffee chain Starbucks is paying workers just 25 pence an hour at its newly opened stores in India.
The meager amount falls far below the country's official living wage and means some staff earns less in a day than the price of the cheapest cup of Starbucks coffee in the UK.
Details of the wages emerged as the world's biggest coffee chain, worth 25 billion pounds, attempts to gain a foothold in the sub-continent by opening its first three outlets in Mumbai.
According to the Mirror, just weeks ago it was revealed that the company, which prides itself on being 'ethical', paid no tax in Britain for the past three years.
Under Indian law, restaurant, hotel and cafe owners are only required to pay their staff 17 pence an hour, or six pounds a month.
But the Indian 'living wage', the amount people need to eat, drink and pay the bills, is set at 67 pence an hour.
Even the baristas who serve coffee were being paid only 56 pence an hour, less than five pounds for a day's work.
The 36 staff working in the three stores, called "partners" in Starbucks, were nervous about speaking out for fear of losing their jobs.
Nearby coffee shop owners said it was common for companies to pay low wages.
"These kids are desperate for work to improve their living conditions and so they are just glad to have a job," one worker explained.
"The TV is full of adverts for all the good things in life and if you are at the bottom, the only way is to take what you are given in the hope that you can one day afford all those nice things," the worker added.