Unite has launched a campaign calling on Sainsbury’s to “make low pay taste better”.
The union is calling on the board and shareholders to hear the concerns of their workforce.
Unite has submitted a pay claim to management, but the union is concerned that “yet again the plea for a decent pay award will fall on deaf ears”.
The union claims 12,000 works at the supermarket have had no pay rise for up to five years because of the company’s refusal to increase the band maxima.
A spokesperson for Unite said: “It is only right that many of the dedicated workforce, many of which are female and work part-time for family reasons, who form the backbone of this company, are given a fair pay settlement. This must reflect the outstanding performance and contribution of our members to the company.
“While Sainsbury’s claim ‘our values make us different’ they continue to pay their staff less then their competitors and less than a living wage.”
The supermarket hit back. A spokesperson said: “No colleagues are having their pay cut. For a number of reasons a small proportion of colleagues are paid above the maximum level for their role and also above the market rate. We are therefore working to ensure that we pay all colleagues fairly and equally for performing the same or similar roles.
“The views and ideas of colleagues are represented to us through our Colleague Councils.
“We have a good relationship with both Usdaw and Unite as the recognised trade inions in our business and we are committed to these relationships and to developing them further,” he said.
“We meet with representatives of our Colleague Councils and unions to discuss a variety of colleague-related issues, including pay and reward. However we do not negotiate pay or other terms and conditions with either trade union in our Retail environment. We will announce the detail of this year’s retail colleague pay review at the usual time in August,” he added.
The news comes against the background of a sustained campaign against wages in the fresh produce industry which has seen protests in supermarket produce aisles.
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