Agency staff on UK work visas get equal pay at Asda
March 04 2010 by Liam Clifford
A deal has been struck between supermarket chain Asda and the trade union Unite that will benefit thousands of immigrants working in the UK.
The deal will see
thousands of temporary staff, who are mainly UK work visa holders, get the same
pay as permanent staff working for Asda through suppliers.
Unite, which
represents agency workers said that 6,000 workers have won the right to equal
pay under the agreement. It will see Asda liaise with its suppliers, unions and
temporary worker agencies to ensure the workers are paid the same as permanent
staff.
The supermarket chain is now calling for other chains to make the
same agreements, ahead of a European directive on the subject which is due to
come into force next year. The cost of providing the UK work visa holders and
other temporary workers the same pay as permanents is expected to total £2.4
million.
Unite has run a campaign against supermarkets for their
treatment of temporary workers, claiming they run a 'two-tier' employment scheme
which discriminates against people from abroad who are working in the
UK.
A statement from Asda explained, “following our own investigation
into working conditions in the meat sector, we agreed with Unite that agency
workers who do the same work as permanent workers should receive equal pay, and
that agency work should not be used as a means of preventing them from accessing
the same rights as permanent workers.”
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