WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Online retail giant Amazon announced yesterday it would raise its starting wage for US workers to US$15 an hour, amid long-standing criticism of low pay, and advocate for a higher minimum wage nationwide.

The pay raise will apply to 250,000 employees, starting November 1, and to the more than 100,000 seasonal workers the company expects to hire for the holiday shopping season.

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said the company, with a market valuation of nearly US$1 trillion, heard the complaints about the pay structure.

“We listened to our critics, thought hard about what we wanted to do, and decided we want to lead,” Bezos said in a statement.

Amazon encouraged other large US employers to follow its lead, and said it would lobby US lawmakers for an increase in the federal minimum wage, currently at only US$7.25.

But the company did not say if it would push for a minimum wage of US$15 per hour, a long-sought goal of worker advocates. Amazon’s pay varies by location, so the increase could be US$3 to US$5 an hour, depending on the state.

The company — which offers online shoppers an unparalleled combination of ease, speedy delivery and choice few can match — has long faced stinging criticism of its labour practices, including gruelling labour conditions and lack of job security.

While Amazon portrays the pay raise as a response to those critics, with US unemployment now flirting with historic lows, employers across the country complain they are having difficulty finding enough qualified workers to fill open positions. And some have had to curtail or cancel planned investments as a result.

TAX CUTS, FLAT US WAGES

The new minimum wage will also apply to employees at high-end grocery store chain Whole Foods, which Amazon acquired last year, according to Amazon.

“We intend to advocate for a minimum wage increase that will have a profound impact on the lives of tens of millions of people and families across this country,” Jay Carney, Amazon’s head of global corporate affairs, said in the statement.

Amazon employees currently receive support for job training, health coverage, as well as retirement benefits and paid parental leave, the company said.

Despite the tight US labour market and rising after-tax corporate profits, worker pay in the United States has so far risen only sluggishly, leaving them effectively flat when taking inflation into account.

President Donald Trump had promoted December’s sweeping tax cuts by saying they would boost worker pay, and the White House has pointed to bonuses many employers have since offered as evidence of increased prosperity.

Bezos, a frequent target of Trump’s criticism, is currently the world’s richest man, with a total net worth of US$165 billion, largely Microsoft founder Bill Gates, according to Bloomberg.