The offer now goes out to ballot with Usdaw members in Northern Ireland and in Asda Express, which closes on 15 March. There will be an interim increase on 1 April to £11.44 and £12.61 for stores inside the M25, to meet National Minimum Wage.
Jayne Allport – Usdaw National Officer says: “We are pleased to have negotiated a pay increase to £12.04, which takes the basic hourly rate above the real Living Wage and meets our demands of at least £12 per hour. This offer from the company will now go to a ballot of Usdaw members covered by our agreements in Northern Ireland and Asda Express, Usdaw is recommending that they accept. Retail staff are key workers in our communities, ensuring that the nation is fed; they deserve our respect and one of the best ways of showing that is with decent pay, particularly in a cost of living crisis.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and 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 www.usdaw.org.uk
For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion