THERE will be ballots for industrial action at ASDA Wal-Mart, after talks with senior managers in the shops on Wednesday 8th, and depots on Thursday 9th, both failed to make progress on the items in dispute, the GMB trade union reported yesterday.
On bonus’, ASDA Wal-Mart advised the GMB that the profits generated in the company were not £650 million for 2005 but £770 million which amounts to a profit of £5,500 per employee both full and part-time.
ASDA-Wal-Mart acknowledged that the profit target had been missed by £70 million and this had led to 100,000 of the 140,000 staff missing out on an annual bonus of £260 per person, the equivalent of £5 a week.
ASDA Wal-Mart in effect conceded that workers can have little impact on whether the target is reached.
ASDA Wal-Mart refused to re-open the bonus issue and will not pay any money to the 100,000 employees who missed out. They notified the GMB that the profit targets for 2006 for employee bonus purposes will be lowered.
On collective bargaining; ASDA Wal-Mart refused to consider the GMB’s claim for a national collective agreement covering the depots.
On pay in the stores; ASDA Wal-Mart told GMB that they would make an announcement next week regarding the pay levels that will be imposed for 2006 in the stores.
They refused to discuss GMB’s views as to what should happen to the pay structures when the lowest pay rate of £5.10 per hour may have to rise to £5.35 in October 2006 if the National Minimum Wage is increased as recommended by the Low Pay Commission.
ASDA Wal-Mart has a consolidated rate of £5.44 per hour which includes the premium elements for Saturday and Sunday working. This rate needs to rise proportionally so that workers on this rate do not loose out.
GMB official Jude Brimble commented: ‘ASDA Wal-Mart need a fundamental change in their approach to dealing with the concerns of their employees. Arrangements on pay and conditions need to be fair and these arrangements should be fairly arrived at.
‘At ASDA Wal-Mart neither case applies. We have the spectre of low paid employees generating £5,500 profits per person last year being denied a payment of £250 because of the missing of an arbitrary target.’
‘GMB has a trade dispute with ASDA Wal-Mart. I will report on the outcome of the talks to a meeting on Wednesday 14th March in Manchester, of GMB senior officers who deal with ASDA Wal-Mart.
‘That meeting will fix the timetable for the ballots of our members for industrial action.’
