Joanne McGuinness – Usdaw National Officer says: “Usdaw has long been making the case for the real living wage and beyond, so this deal takes Sainsbury’s staff 45p per hour above that £8.75 rate. While this is welcome news for Usdaw members working in Sainsbury’s we will be looking closely at the whole deal, as we understand the company are proposing some contractual changes. Consolidating pay can benefit staff, but we want to check the effects on all individual workers. We will now enter into talks with the company.”

Notes for editors:

Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with over 430,000 members. Membership has increased by more than 28% over the decade. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.

For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion