MPs on the Business and Trade Committee have asked supermarket chain Asda to provide more evidence of its plans to alter the wages of thousands of workers, plans that the GMB union has alleged amount to a fire and rehire scheme.
Committee chair Darren Jones MP has written to Asda co-owner Mohsin Issa to ask him to clarify the evidence as part of an evidence session on fuel and food price inflation.
Asked whether Asda was still using fire-and-rehire tactics, Asda chief commercial officer, Kris Comerford, told the committee on 27 June they were “not something that Asda employs.”
Fire and rehire code
Draft fire and rehire code published
However, recent letters from Asda and the GMB union had made the accuracy of this statement unclear, said the committee. GMB told the committee that Asda had issued the threat of using fire and rehire that Asda characterised as “dismiss and reengage” as “a last resort” in its own letter.
Jones has asked Issa to appear before the Committee to discuss these concerns on 19 July.
In May it emerged that Asda was looking to cut the wages of 7,000 staff in the south-east of England.
The retail giant was said to be targeting 39 stores outside the M25 where its workers had historically been paid extra to offset the higher cost of living closer to London. It said it was looking to remove anomalies whereby workers in stores in close proximity were being paid different rates.
The GMB union claimed Asda was likely to fire workers who did not accept the new conditions, adding that the workers were already low-paid, and that planning to reduce pay during a cost-of-living crisis was “inexcusable”.
A spokesperson for the company at the time said all Asda staff had recently been given a 10% pay rise to help with rising inflation.
The workers in the south-east receive a “location supplement” of 60p per hour, which Asda was looking at scrapping, and a night supplement that it wanted to reduce, the GMB said.
In a letter published this week, commenting on the committee meeting, Asda said: “We have been clear all along in both the business case and any public statements that we are in consultation with colleague representatives and our focus and intention is on reaching an agreement.
“No final decision has been taken on the proposal and we are committed to a fair, transparent and meaningful consultation on the proposed changes.”
Issa added: “We are disappointed to hear that the committee feels there are discrepancies in our evidence and have provided them with a detailed response to their letter requesting a further interview.
“Our consultation on legacy payments in a small number of stores in the south-east is ongoing and our objective remains to reach a compensatory payment for colleagues impacted. This remains a live consultation and we would not comment further in order to not prejudice its outcome.
He added that Asda was “respectful employer of thousands of valued colleagues.”
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
The MPs also said it was “concerned about apparent discrepancies” between evidence given by Comerford, on fuel pricing and a Competition and Markets Authority market study published this week. During the session Comerford claimed that Asda’s fuel pricing strategy policy had not changed, but the Competition and Markets Authority found “a significant weakening of competitive pricing” from Asda.
Latest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today
Browse more human resources jobs
