127,000 hourly paid store staff will receive a 25p per hour increase from 16th October, taking the rate from £10 to £10.25 and £11.05 to £11.30 per hour in London. So combined this year’s pay increase is 7.9% in total and represents a 28% increase in pay over five years.
The new support package also provides access to staple food items during shifts until the end of the year and increased discounts at Sainsbury’s and Argos. The free food will ensure that staff can have something to eat while they are at work and the longer and deeper discounts will help staff plan and manage their budgets through the autumn and in the run up to Christmas.
Dave Gill - Usdaw National Officer says: “We continue to work closely with Sainsbury’s on pay and the 5.5% increase the company announced in March 2022 was fully supported by 92% of our membership.
“With the cost of living continually rising, we have kept open our dialogue with Sainsbury’s and we are pleased the business has responded so positively. This is an unprecedented additional autumn pay award and the free food and additional discount will be appreciated by our members.
“It is a very challenging time at present and we are particularly pleased that this additional increase, due to take effect from October 2022, will not replace the usual pay review process which takes place annually in March.
“The scale of the financial challenges facing all workers is immense and there still needs to be significant interventions from Government. Even under their plan, energy prices will have still doubled in six months. Along with other prices sky-rocketing the cost of living is simply unaffordable for far too many workers.
“Usdaw is campaigning for urgent Government action on the cost of living crisis and we back the TUC call for the date of the National Minimum Wage rate increases to October 2022, instead of April 2023. Alongside this, we are seeking talks with all the employers we deal with to secure urgent assistance to tackle the hardship that many of our members are facing.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades.
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion