Workplace Report (June 2019)

Bargaining news

An end to unfair two-tier workforce at Argos site


Argos warehouse workers employed by Wincanton in Kettering, Northamptonshire are getting a 19% pay increase in a move to equalise pay among staff.


In 2017, 145 workers were transferred from Magna Park in Leicestershire to the Argos site in Kettering. The workers transferred to the Kettering site on higher salaries which created an unfair two-tier workforce which threatened unity and morale among the 300 workers.


The Unite general union has successfully negotiated pay upwards to achieve parity between the two groups of workers in a deal which means the lower paid workers will get a 19% increase by 2022. It means that a typical worker on the lower rate, will see their pay rate increase from £10 an hour to £11.88. The remaining workers also received a payment worth 6.0%.


Unite regional officer Mick Orpin said: “This was a complex set of negotiations, but the deal delivers for the entire workforce.”

https://unitetheunion.org/news-events/news/2019/june/unite-negotiates-19-per-cent-pay-increase-for-argos-warehouse-workers


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