Warrington ,October 2019-(Amanjit Singh Khaira)-
Faisal Rashid, MP for Warrington South, has called on Asda’s Chief Executive, Roger Burnley, to do right by Asda staff in his constituency and urgently reconsider forced contract changes.
Faisal wrote to Asda on 14th August to raise concerns regarding reports that Asda staff in Warrington South were being forced to sign new contracts or risk losing their jobs, noting that these forced changes would have a significant impact on them and their Asda colleagues.
Asda employees reported that they felt pressured to sign this new contract by their managers, leaving them with little choice because if they did not sign, they would be forced to leave without any redundancy package. This has left many Asda employees fearing for their jobs and their futures, including staff at the Asda superstores in Westbrook and at the Cockhedge Shopping Centre. Since Faisal’s previous correspondence with Asda over this issue GMB union have reported that Asda have issued all colleagues who haven’t signed up to the changes with a leaflet telling them how to apply for jobs elsewhere. This directly contradicts Asda’s statement in response to Faisal’s initial letter, which claimed that: “The overwhelming majority of our colleagues have signed onto the new contracts and while we appreciate that some of our colleagues find the changes more unsettling, we do not want any of them to leave.”
These contract changes have seen thousands of staff lose out on flexibility and holidays. Many thousands of Asda workers simply won’t be flexible in the way that Asda bosses demand – imposing a new contract won’t change workers’ childcare, caring, studying, family and other outside work commitments.
Faisal Rashid, MP for Warrington South, said:
“I am angered by reports that Asda continue to force these unfair contract changes on employees.
“I fail to see how this is an appropriate way to treat loyal, hard-working staff in my constituency – particularly at a time when Asda are recording £850 million in annual profits.
“People who have provided years of service to the company are set to lose many benefits. Employees should not feel bullied into signing this contract with the threat of losing their jobs. Once again, I am calling on Asda to do right by these employees and urgently reconsider these forced contract changes.”
