The
Transport & General Workers Union
(T&G) has accused high-street retailer Marks & Spencer of forcing staff
to work longer hours.
The
union said it had been contacted by a number of staff who claimed they were
being asked to extend their working day by as much as one or two hours a shift
so that M&S had more staff on the shopfloor
on evenings and at weekends.
A
spokesman for T&G told The Times: “We have had representations from members
at M&S about how they felt intimidated and we stand ready to represent
those members who want to take the case up.”
M&S
denied that it was forcing change on the 55,000 staff who work in its stores. A spokeswoman told the newspaper:
“We have been working closely in partnership with employees in stores and the
heads of HR are encouraged by the response so far.”
She
dismissed those that did not welcome the changes as a “tiny minority” and said
that most staff understood the need for new working hours.
M&S
was making the changes to staff contracts because “at the moment we often don’t
have enough staff in stores to serve customers”, the spokeswoman added.
The
T&G said staff had complained that they had not been fully consulted and
that in a series of one-to-one meetings with HR staff they felt impelled to
sign up to new hours.
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