GMB union slams Asda and urges grocery giant to ‘get round table and pay women workers their due’
More than 100,000 Asda retail workers will work ‘for free’ from today when compared with their colleagues in depots, according to the GMB union.
6th November, dubbed ‘Asda Equal Pay Day’ by the union, is the day the predominantly male workforce in distribution will have already earned what the predominantly female retail workforce will take home for the entire year.
This means retail staff face 39 working days before Christmas where they will effectively be paid nothing, compared to their distribution colleagues, the GMB claims.
Asda is currently facing the largest ever private sector equal pay claim, with approximately 50,000 current and former workers suing the company. A hearing takes place in September.
Nadine Houghton, GMB National Officer, says: “It’s scandalous that up to 100,000 Asda retail workers will essentially be grafting for free for the rest of the year”
“The entire retail sector has been built on the structural undervaluing of women's work - but GMB members are changing this with their historic fight for equal pay in Asda.”
“Asda can afford to pay its women workers what they are owed; the cost of settling the equal pay claims is about £2.1 billion. it is time for the owners - TDR Capital and the Issa Brothers - to get round the table and pay women workers their due.”
An Asda spokesperson told RTIH: “At Asda male and female colleagues doing the same jobs in stores are paid the same and this is equally true in our distribution centres.”
“We continue to defend these claims because retail and distribution are very different sectors, with their own distinct skill sets and rates of pay.”
TCS deal
Tata Consultancy Services recently announced a multi-year partnership with Asda to support its digital transformation and to implement a new organisation wide IT operating model, following its divestiture from Walmart.
This will see the grocery giant leverage TCS’ cloud, AI, and security solutions.
TCS will build a new digital core by implementing multiple cloud-based ERP platforms to streamline Asda’s supply chain forecasting, buying and merchandising processes, HR processes, warehouse management, and e-commerce processes.
Additionally, it will use its Machine First Delivery Model to automate the retailer’s IT operations, with the aim of providing a seamless experience for employees and customers, and improving operational resilience.
Mohsin Issa, Chief Executive Officer, Asda, commented: “We have a long-term vision to grow Asda and bring our great heritage in value to even more communities – and our technology will form a key part of delivering this vision.”
“We have partnered with TCS because they bring experience in retail technology transformation and innovation. We look forward to working with them to accelerate our digital transformation journey and to unlock the potential of our business.”
Carl Dawson, Chief Digital & Technology Officer, Asda, said: “We are confident that this collaboration with TCS will be one of the engines to deliver such a large technology transformation, where we are in the process of reimagining retail.”
“TCS is going to bring together the cutting-edged technologies and help Asda employees and customers have a seamless experience.”
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