Drivers employed by Harper & Guy Consulting at the Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L ) Waltham Abbey distribution centre plan to strike over being paid £12,000 ($16,000) less a year than those directly employed by the retail giant in the days before Christmas, trade union Unite said.
Unite warned this could have a major impact on deliveries to some 100 Sainsbury’s stores in London and the South East.
The drivers, who collect from hubs and bring goods into the distribution system, will strike for 24 hours on 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22 December, as well as from the evening of 26 December to the evening of 27 December.
Unite regional officer Paul Travers said: “We feel that that Harper & Guy Consulting is hiding behind COVID-19 as a flimsy excuse not to engage in pay talks for 2020 and the glaring pay disparity issue.”
“Unite remains open for constructive talks for a just settlement and so avert these strikes,” he said, adding that the action could hurt “Sainsbury’s bottom line in the competitive Christmas supermarket ‘war’ with its rivals.”
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A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We encourage both sides to keep talking and can reassure our customers that we have contingency plans in place to minimise any disruption this may cause.”
Unite national officer for road transport and logistics Matt Draper added that “Sainsbury’s needs to remember a ‘key worker’ is not just for the present COVID-19 emergency, but for the long-term as a contented workforce improves productivity. I urge Sainsbury’s to intervene and resolve this injustice before it suffers reputational damage as a result.”
Earlier this month, Sainsbury’s warned that around 3,500 people may lose their jobs as it shifts its business and staffing plans to accommodate the way COVID-19 has shaped shopping.
The group said in a statement that most of those roles at risk will be from the Argos chain it bought in 2016 as it looks to close 420 Argos standalone stores by March 2024, and then open 150 more outlets in Sainsbury's stores.
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November 30, 2020 at 04:58PM
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