Online marketplace Trade Me will offer more than 30 members of its staff a living wage starting the end of the month, lifting its base pay rates.

Trade Me chief executive Jon Macdonald said the company will raise the minimum wage for full time and fixed term employees to $20.55 per hour (or $42,744 per annum).

“We employ 630 great people across the country and this change will mean 33 of them will receive a pay increase of approximately $3,500 a year for full time staff,” Macdonald said. “We’re committed to doing the right thing by our people.”

Macdonald said the employees who will receive an increase were mostly in TradeMe’s customer service team.

“Our CS team work hard every day of the year to help our members and customers,” Macdonald said. “They respond to thousands of emails and hundreds of calls every week. We wanted to support them by providing a living wage.”

The movement is beginning to gain traction in New Zealand, with Trade Me being the latest in a string of retailers who are offering staff a living wage, such as Bunnings and Smiths City, who both made a similar announcement earlier this year.