Sainsbury’s has said it will employ more immigrant workers, because they have a “superior” work ethic.

The supermarket chain said it hopes the hard-working approach of eastern Europeans and other new arrivals will spread to domestic workers.

“We found migrant workers to have a very satisfactory work ethic, in many cases superior to domestic workers,” the chain told a parliamentary inquiry on the economic impact of immigration.

“We believe that this results from their differing motivations; they want to learn English, or send money home to their families.

“They tend to be more willing to work flexibly, and be satisfied with their duties, terms and conditions and productivity requirements. In the long term, this could have a positive effect on their domestic colleagues.”

Sainsbury’s said usage of immigrant labour in its retail and distribution arms had “grown significantly” in the past two years, though it does not keep figures for how many of its 150,000-strong workforce are immigrants.

The chain told the House of Lords economic affairs select committee that the use of migrant workers is set to “increase within Sainsbury’s, as the UK population declines”.

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