Socialist Party members in Usdaw
Sainsbury’s bosses have announced plans to axe a whopping 3,000 jobs; around 2% of the company’s workforce is set to go. It will mean closures of 61 cafes as well as hot food, pizza, bakery and patisserie counters – so much for Sainsbury’s ‘food first’ policy!
Over the last few years, all the major supermarket chains have been disposing of their in-store counters – which for some people, particularly the elderly, are an important part of their supermarket shopping experience, providing someone to talk to and getting the right portion sizes.
This is a shift for the worse, and will only embolden big supermarkets to continue going down the path of Lidl/Aldi-type stores, with much more limited range of services and facilities, not to mention jobs.
Usdaw, one of the two trade unions representing Sainsbury’s workers, has simply put out a statement that refuses to challenge the proposals. It merely states it will “ensure our members are supported throughout the process and as many people as possible remain in employment with the company”. Sainsbury’s, like other retailers that propose to cost our members’ jobs, need to be put under far greater scrutiny.
Sainsbury’s reported a pre-tax profit of £277 million in its latest financial reports. While down on the previous year, underlying profit in retail is up 4.3% and the overall decline is put down to “restructuring of the Financial Services division”. The confidence of the Sainsbury’s bosses in the profitability of the company is such that they have paid the same 13.1p dividend to shareholders as last year, reduced net debt by £790 million, and initiated a £200 million share-buy-back scheme.
However, in seeking 5-10% growth, bosses are targeting £1 billion of cost savings over the next three years. They want to further boost their profits by throwing the jobs of Sainsbury’s workers on the scrap heap.
Unite the Union’s comments that Sainsbury’s plans mean the “lowest-paid workers are paying the price for corporate greed,” get to the root of the issue. But simply stating that is not enough.
An immediate campaign needs to be launched against the proposals – joint mass meetings, ideally involving both Usdaw and Unite reps, in Sainsbury’s should be convened to discuss a strategy to fight back. That should include reaching out to people who shop in Sainsbury’s and use the cafes, with the potential for leafleting, protests and other campaigning outside the stores. Industrial action should also be considered to hit Sainsbury’s management where they will really feel it, in the bottom line. Failure to take action now will only weaken the position that both unions will be in to fight further rounds of job cuts that will come.
This once again shows why the big supermarket chains should be brought into public ownership. How workers get food is an important part of our lives and cannot simply be left to the whims of a market driven by profits for those at the top, rather than what suits our lives and needs.
