Sainsbury’s workers to strike over attendance policy

Workers at the retailer’s Waltham Point distribution centre will take part in a second round of 24-hour strike action on July 25, according to a statement from trade union Usdaw.

The announcement of a second day of strike action comes after more than 100 workers from the site went out on a 24-hour strike on June 27.

The Waltham Point depot in Essex is one of Sainsbury’s largest and employs over 1,200 people and covers more than 700,000 sq ft.

Usdaw divisional officer Nigel Scully said the union was “frustrated and disappointed” that Sainsbury’s would not negotiate over the attendance scheme for employees on the site.

“Usdaw is frustrated and disappointed that the company are still not prepared to discuss the key issues we cannot agree on and have been unable to come up with an acceptable offer regarding the attendance scheme on site.

“Individuals do get ill and/or injured and need to be in a position where they can recover without having to worry whether they will be getting paid. The company’s changes mean that our members, including many who have given significant years’ service, could quickly end up without any sick pay, meaning that financial worries are likely to be added to any other issues they are going through.

“This industrial action is a last resort following many meetings where we have tried to work with the company to find an agreement. We continue to call on the company to enter serious negotiations and ensure that our members have adequate sick pay provisions in line with other staff across the Sainsbury’s estate including our retail members.”

Sainsbury’s said the current policy was the result of a more than two year consultation with both the union and staff. Retail Week understands that all current staff have signed up to the new policy and attendance rates have improved significantly as a result. 

A spokesperson for the grocer said: “We have contingencies in place to minimise any disruption this may cause our customers.”