Asda contract row: Fewer than 1,000 staff yet to sign new deals

In a memo sent to workers today and seen by Retail Week, Asda boss Roger Burnley said 120,000 of its employees had already agreed to take up the new contracts from Sunday, ahead of tomorrow’s deadline for acceptance.

Burnley said that meant “less than 1,000” workers were “still undecided” over the new deal – considerably less than the 12,000 figure the GMB union claimed earlier this week.

Asda said it was “disappointing” that such “misinformation” had been communicated to its workers and offered to extend the deadline to sign until Sunday, November 10.

The new terms being introduced by the grocer, as part of what has been dubbed ‘Contract 6’, include a hike in the basic hourly rate of pay to £9, the removal of paid breaks and shorter night shifts.

The contracts would also class bank holidays other than Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day as “normal working days”.

Burnley said in his letter: “We intend to keep talking to these colleagues and hope that they too will sign up. On Saturday, once the closing date has passed, we will write to them again, offering them the opportunity to sign up because we really don’t want any colleague to make a decision to leave and then regret it.”

He added: “We do not want anyone to leave because of the new contract and have tried hard throughout this process to address your concerns. We made changes throughout the collective consultation process and then used the individual meetings with every colleague to answer questions about their personal circumstances.

“We know that some colleagues are worried about how we will manage the contract in the future, making unreasonable requests and changing rotas at the last minute but you have our commitment to always giving four weeks’ notice to rota changes.

“And we have carried out training for all of our management teams to help them do this thoughtfully, reminding them our colleagues have busy lives and commitments outside work.”

While Asda has long claimed the changes bring its contracts into-line with the wider standard in the grocery sector, GMB, the Asda workers union, has fought the changes tooth and nail. 

An Asda spokesman added: “We have been absolutely clear throughout this process that we don’t want any of our colleagues to leave us and have worked extensively with them and union representatives to understand and address any concerns.

“Despite extensive engagement throughout this process, it is disappointing that there has been some misinformation from external parties to our colleagues. We do not want anyone to leave due to misinformation, particularly in these challenging economic times, so once the notice period ends on Saturday, we will write to those colleagues who are still undecided – currently in the hundreds but continuing to drop – offering them the opportunity to sign up because we don’t want any colleague to make a decision to leave and then regret it.

“Change is never easy, but we are determined that Asda remains a sustainable business for its customers and colleagues – now and in the future.”

Asda extension ’kicks the can down the road’ 

In response GMB, the union for Asda workers, have hit back at the proposed extension for those who have not signed the contract, claiming the week-long extension is not long enough for staff to decide. It said: “Real life situations won’t have changed in the space of a week”. 

GMB national officer Gary Carter said: “This eleventh hour delay kicks the can down the road for Asda workers who are unable to sign this punishing new contract. They now face the prospect of the sack even closer to Christmas.

“Asda are clearly feeling the heat from the opposition to their behaviour, but this move does not change the brutal reality facing long-serving, dedicated staff.

“Thousands of Asda workers have been forced into signing this new contract because they can’t afford to lose their jobs, least of all in the run up to Christmas. 

“But a seven-day delay won’t change the fact that people – often women workers with kids, caring responsibilities or other part-time jobs - simply can’t sign up to these new terms. 

“We’re talking about people who have worked at Asda for decades – this is not how any employer should treat loyal, hardworking people. Asda should get back round the table to negotiate and offer a better deal to its workers.”

The changes being implemented by Asda would bring it into line with the likes of Tesco, Marks & Spencer and B&Q, all of which have ushered in similar new contracts in recent years.

Asda said its move would represent an £80m investment in pay for more than 100,000 employees and would create a “fairer” system by ensuring that all of its workers are moved onto the same terms and conditions.