Trade Union
This coverage examines trade union activity and its impact on the UK retail industry. Reporting highlights industrial action, wage negotiations, working conditions disputes, and agreements between unions and employers. Designed for professionals overseeing workforce relations, HR policy, and operational planning in response to labour movements and employee advocacy.
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Apr- 2023 -26 AprilSupply Chain
Amazon workers in Coventry start union recognition process
GMB union has confirmed that it has started the process for Amazon Coventry’s union recognition, following two weeks of strike action by workers at the fulfilment centre. Almost 700 Amazon Coventry workers are now GMB members, a number the union believes is more than half of workers at the site…
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Oct- 2022 -31 OctoberHigh Street
Wilko increases staff pay to £10
Wilko has announced it has increased its entry level hourly rate to £10 – 50p above the national living wage. The pay increase comes after a successful national ballot of team members undertaken by the GMB trade union. The retailer said it is committed to an additional market forces temporary…
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Aug- 2022 -10 AugustSupply Chain
Royal Mail faces FY loss as strikes get green light
Royal Mail has warned it could face a full-year loss as over 115,000 postal workers are set to partake in the biggest strike of summer, after calling for a “dignified, proper pay rise”. The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents Royal Mail Group workers, confirmed that workers will take strike…
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Apr- 2022 -8 AprilHR
Tesco colleagues to see 5.8% pay rise to £10.10
Tesco has unveiled a £200m investment which will see Customer Fulfilment Centre (CFC) colleagues benefit from a 5.8% increase in hourly rates from £9.55 to £10.10, effective from 24 July 2022. Tesco said the pay increase is the biggest single-year investment in hourly store/CFC pay in at least a decade,…
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Feb- 2022 -22 FebruaryNews
Asda strike looms after thousands turn down pay deal
An Asda strike has “moved closer” after thousands of distribution staff turned down a pay deal, according to the GMB. The supermarket, which has been negotiating with the GMB, the recognised trade union for ALS, made the following offer to colleagues last month. It should be noted this offer was…
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18 FebruaryCoronavirus
135,000 retail jobs lost amid pandemic
Almost 135,000 traditional retail jobs were lost during the course of the pandemic, according to an analysis of figures from trade union GMB. It found that in 2019, there were an estimated 1.2 million sales and retail assistants, retail cashiers and check-out operators in the UK. By 2021, however, this…
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Dec- 2021 -9 DecemberDIY
IKEA exceeds Living Wage rates amid pay rise
IKEA has exceeded the new real Living Wage rates in its latest pay increase, which sees staff wages rise to at least £11.30 an hour in London and £10.10 in the rest of the country. Retail trade union Usdaw has welcomed the pay rise, as the union’s New Deal for…
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Nov- 2021 -4 NovemberDepartment Stores
Harrods reports £68m loss as restaurant staff to vote on strike action
Luxury department store Harrods has reported a loss of £68m for the 52-week period ending 30 January 2021. According to its latest set of accounts published on Companies House, it comes after its gross transaction value decreased by 51% to £1.09bn and its turnover also fell by 50% to £429m…
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Jul- 2021 -28 JulyFeatures
What would protective shopworkers’ legislation mean?
“I’ve been sworn at, spat at and had a knife pulled on me all in the last 10 months,” says a shop worker responding to the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) 2020 survey. This response is just one of many negative reports experienced by workers across the…
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6 JulyCoronavirus
Usdaw ‘slams’ lifting of restrictions in shops
Usdaw has “slammed” the government’s announcement that it plans to lift safety measures in stores once the final Covid restrictions are lifted on 19 July. In a speech made yesterday (5 July), the Prime Minister confirmed that face coverings would no longer be mandatory in shops from that date, whilst…
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