Can competitors afford to follow Co-op's lead and raise wages?

About 60,000 Co-op food store staff will be serving customers with an extra spring in their step today.

That’s because this morning The Co-operative Employers Association - a collective bargaining body for a number of co-op societies including The Co-operative Group, Central England, Midcounties, Lincolnshire, Radstock and Chelmsford Star– told them it had proposed their minimum rate of pay should increase by at least 8.5% over the next two years.

The Co-op Employers Association says the proposal is worth in excess of £85m a year and will mean minimum pay rates for a full-time shop assistant or supervisor will increase by around £1,200 per year. It will also mean that for societies like The Co-op Group, which has a legacy of acquisitions, it will be able to put all of its staff on the same contract. The proposal will now go to a ballot with a decision expected in April.

It’s a similar move to retailing powerhouse Walmart which last month revealed it was raising the wages of 500,000 of its US staff to ensure they were paid at least $1.75 above the US minimum wage, or $9.00 an hour in April. By 1 February 2016 staff will earn at least $10.00 an hour.

It also comes ahead of increased political interest in both the minimum and living wage in the run-up to the general election.

Last month, the Low Pay Commission recommended an increase in the national minimum wage by 3% from the current £6.50 an hour to £6.70 from October. The current living wage, meanwhile, is £7.85 an hour, or £9.15 in London, according to the Living Wage Foundation.

Today, Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy laid out plans to tackle low pay in Scotland – pledging that if Labour came into power it would encourage companies to pay their staff the living wage by offering tax rebates. That pledge was also made by Labour leader Ed Miliband last month when he outlined his party’s business policies. Labour also wants to raise the minimum wage to £8 an hour by 2020 and ban zero hours contracts.

The Conservatives have been equally vocal. Last month, Prime Minister David Cameron called on businesses to boost wages as the economy continued to recover. He also said those companies that could pay the living wage should.

Today’s news from the Co-op Employers Association has been naturally welcomed by staff, but at a time when the major mults are in crisis and many restructure in a bid to cut costs, it’s far from certain than others will follow, even if the political pressure becomes unbearable.