Trade unionists and campaigners marked the opening of a new Sports Direct store in Lincoln on Saturday morning with a protest against zero-hours contracts and low pay.
Activists gave out leaflets contrasting the lack of holiday and sick pay and bonuses for the 90% of Sports Direct workers on zero-hours contracts with the £240 million profit that was made by the company in the last financial year.
The protest coincided with a major speech made by Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, who singled out the “Victorian practices” of Sports Direct and described it as a “bad place to work”.
Nick Parker, Secretary of Lincoln and District TUC, said: “When a company like Sports Direct owned by a multi-billionaire like Mike Ashley makes annual profits of £240 million, they can afford to pay their workers at least £10 an hour and give them regular hours at work.
“Lincoln & District TUC held a protest today as part of the ongoing Midlands TUC Decent Jobs campaign to encourage particularly young workers to organise together to stand up for their rights at work.”
