Sainsbury’s will do well to take the low-pay pressure seriously
At first glance, it may feel unfair to pick on Sainsbury’s in a campaign against low pay in the supermarket sector. The group’s rate of hourly basic pay is higher than Tesco’s (£10 versus £9.55) and, among Sainsbury’s directly employed staff, it is only those in outer London who are currently denied the real living wage. The company is not operating from the P&O Ferries manual of employee relations.
Yet one can equally argue that campaign group Share Action, with backing from investment heavyweights Legal & General and National Employment Savings Trust among others, has chosen well in calling on Sainsbury’s to pursue full living wage accreditation. In the midst of a cost of living crisis, there is a strong sense that if cuddly Sainsbury’s, which will gush endlessly about its responsible approach to doing business, can’t step up in all respects, then nobody in the supermarket industry ever will.
How much would it cost to make the leap? The company won’t say but one suspects an increase from £10.50 to £11.05 in outer London wouldn’t be the most stretching element. Rather, it might be the inclusion of third-party contractors, such as cleaners and security guards. Then there would need to be commitment to keep pace with the real living wage permanently – a pledge, the boardroom may feel, that is tricky if rivals won’t budge.
Yet Sainsbury’s and its listed and unlisted peers would be well-advised to take the shareholder resolution seriously. Supermarket-land is a place of stable profit margins, so it is hard to understand how the main operators have been able to resist real living wage accreditation for so long. Half the companies in the FTSE 100 index are already there. As energy prices rise, and then rise again, this campaign
Read more on theguardian.com
