Asda profits have rocketed more than £92 million with a healthy chunk paid to directors – but at the same time the supermarket giant is threatening staff with no sick pay and the sack if they don’t sign a controversial new contract.
Asda’s latest accounts show pre-tax profits have shot up almost 13 per cent to almost £805 million. Asda directors trousered a whopping £12 million, the union GMB said, up 25 per cent from £9.4 million the year before.
However the accounts also show the supermarket has slashed almost 5,000 jobs from shops and distribution centres – and the company has told its remaining workers they must sign a new ‘flexible’ Contract 6 – which will see them lose all their paid breaks and be forced to work bank holidays – or be dismissed on 2 November.
This month, Asda has told those who are yet to sign the contract they will not be paid for any sick leave until they do.
Gary Carter, GMB national officer, said: “Asda is making a fortune on the backs of its loyal workforce. But instead of rewarding them, bosses are forcing them to choose between signing a brutal contract or getting the sack in time for Christmas.
“Shoppers will be horrified to see Asda turning the lives of its workers upside down while at the same time lining directors’ pockets to the tune of 12 million quid. Asda can more than afford to show respect to its workforce and offer dedicated, long-serving staff a better deal.”
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