Costco plans to hike up its minimum wage to $16 an hour starting next week, putting its pay above the majority of its key competitors, Chief Executive Officer Craig Jelinek announced Thursday. Jelinek made the announcement at a Senate Budget Committee hearing on worker wages at large companies, saying the company’s starting wage for employees would rise from the $15 figure Costco rolled out two years ago. Competitors including Amazon, Target, and Best Buy have $15 starting wages, while Walmart’s minimum wage is $11 an hour. “I want to note: this isn’t altruism,” Jelinek said. “At Costco, we know that paying employees good wages and providing affordable benefits makes sense for our business and constitutes a significant competitive advantage for us.” Jelinek said the move would bolster worker retention and productivity at the company, which is based in Issaquah, Washington, and hires over 180,000 people in the United States. “It …