I am sick of our contract & working conditions constantly being degraded. There is a huge amount of bad feeling on the shop floor over the new contracts that have been approved on our behalf by USDAW.
The collective bargaining agreement allows USDAW to legally do this. At this point it seems they will green-light whatever Tesco asks of them. It is becoming apparent, that they are no longer representing the best interests of the Tesco workers who are paying them.
I mentioned my discontent in the "New contract concerns" post - but felt that to comment further there, might be considered hijacking the thread - so I have started this one to keep thing on-point.
FarmerFred pointed me towards the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). They oversee these bargaining agreements, however, USDAW are an independent union and do not fall under the jurisdiction of the CAC. Furthermore they only cover agreements made after 2001 - I believe the partnership agreement began in 1998.
I have carried out a questionnaire survey of staff in my own (extra) store, to gauge how people felt. I asked the questions as neutrally as possible & included "no opinion" as one of the answers - in order to assess what levels of apathy there might be. I got a good sampling from every department & shift.
Survey Results: (1 clipboard still to be returned - I will update figures when I have it)
Q1 Are you an USDAW member?
Yes: 56.86%
No: 43.14%
Q2 Do you approve of the new contract that has been agreed on your behalf by USDAW?
Yes: 1.96%
No: 82.35%
No opinion: 15.69%
Q3 The collective bargaining agreement between Tesco & USDAW allows changes to your contract & working conditions to be made without your consent. Would you like to end this arrangement?
Yes: 90.20%
No: 3.92%
No opinion: 5.88%
These results show just how strongly staff feel. The new contract is deeply unpopular. If there is ever a time to end the Tesco / USDAW alliance, it is now.
My question to you guys is how can we move forward with this?
Suggestions would be welcome.
Q2 and Q3 will be invalidated as long as the answer of Q1 still high enough. Make a yes answer on Q1 less than 10%, that would be incline with the result of Q2 and Q3, and force usdaw to change their strategy.
Since membership is not mandatory or required to work in tesco, not a primary need, and possibly affect almost nothing to your daily work in tesco.
We want union to make better agreement with tesco, so why not we start make a better agreement with union and give them an offer by stop paying membership.
Don't let the " culture" think for you, but think for ourself, first start with a word why?
I was actually shocked by the result of Q1. I quit the union when they agreed to reducing our Saturday rate. I thought the figure would be much lower than it actually is. I knew Q2 & Q3 would be high, but was a bit surprised just how high it ended up.
I guess with USDAW being the only union allowed in the door, people have little choice - if they want representation in disciplinary meetings etc, they either pay their subs or they are on their own.
For a union to have power it needs a high membership. I'm not surprised by the results but the wording of the questions could be seen as provocative. I'm not disagreeing but leading questions would result in a questionable survey.
How many people are willing and active forum members. Bringing things forward to the forum to go up the line is a long winded way of putting issues across but it is a way to raise issues. The forum is not about issues to be resolved in store, it can help with them though. The forum is about terms and conditions that can't be resolved in store. It takes ages as it has to go on and up the line but this latest change will have been a long time in the planning. The changes that are coming have been mentioned for years. It should be no big surprise to anybody. Changes are often never liked but the impact to the majority will be minimal. We all have the whole store to deliver. If PFS is closed the colleagues can work in store. No surprise they are not going to be paid to do nothing. If the grocery delivery turned up so late it's not worth doing a gap scan next morning and would make more sense to do an all hands fill. A huge influx of customers turn up at the tills we again do all hands to get them through as soon as possible. Fresh delivery is late but then when it turn up it's huge, again nothing wrong in all hands. A huge batch of SELs come down, we should support. No one single area of the store is more important than another. It takes a team. We are a business and having people who will only do one small part of the production is no longer viable.
Its all the nature of the beast,retail is different now,us older generation know,xmas shopping was a military operation,write a list,go into town and hit the shops,now you can sit at home and get it delivered to your door,tesco is no different,as more shop online checkouts will reduce more and more,so serve pick and fill is actually a step forward,and the end of the day,its about the customer,if a checkout staff cant put a few things on the shelf or shop floor staff cant scan a few items through a till,then why are you even working in retail,
About the customer,you do have to treat your staff like your customers that's why things are so bad.They can't even keep shelves filled anymore they would sooner have someone do home shopping get in your way not acknowledge you exsist and offer you fresh air on the shelf.The customer is the last thing on this companies mind now.Profit for shareholders and their bonuses is all they care about.One team no I seriously don't think so.
I was told by an area rep that a union is stronger with more members It's a slippery slope with USDAW because the more in bed they are with Tesco, the fewer members they will have.
Plus if we want one person, one vote, that needs to be brought up in the store forum and also wage negotiations are meant to be brought up then. All news to me, who used to be a forum rep but gave up when everything was about Tesco and what they were wanting.
Quote from: King1999 on 24-06-22, 02:01PMAbout the customer,you do have to treat your staff like your customers that's why things are so bad.They can't even keep shelves filled anymore they would sooner have someone do home shopping get in your way not acknowledge you exsist and offer you fresh air on the shelf.The customer is the last thing on this companies mind now.Profit for shareholders and their bonuses is all they care about.One team no I seriously don't think so.
spot on mate :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
Previous major changes to our contract have been for new starters only. This is because a contract comes with certain legal obligations that both parties have to adhere to.
Tesco is using the USDAW to bludgeon our rights & we are paying the union to do it!
What good is the partnership agreement at this point?
Collective bargaining power for pay rises? We are currently on 5p above minimum wage, putting us below Lidl, Aldi, Morrisons & Asda.
While the upcoming pay deal may look good on paper - it is actually less than the inflation rate is projected to be. Come next April, we will have a new minimum wage & Tesco workers will be even closer to it. Yet they are using this pay rise as justification to re-write our contracts.
As for the forum - we have raised many issues over the years & nothing has ever been resolved from it. In my branch at least, it is utterly ineffective. I don't believe that would be useful route for me follow, given my own experience of it.
Was informed the other day their isn't technically a partnership agreement that says we can't strike.
Only the union can strike lawfully. Any independent action is taken as breach of contract & grounds for dismissal.
Distribution offered 9.5% pay rise but lose turnaround bonus
Whats turnaround bonus work out like ?
Quote from: Sherwoodforest on 24-06-22, 12:00PMIts all the nature of the beast,retail is different now,us older generation know,xmas shopping was a military operation,write a list,go into town and hit the shops,now you can sit at home and get it delivered to your door,tesco is no different,as more shop online checkouts will reduce more and more,so serve pick and fill is actually a step forward,and the end of the day,its about the customer,if a checkout staff cant put a few things on the shelf or shop floor staff cant scan a few items through a till,then why are you even working in retail,
Nailed it right there Sherwoodforest.
QuoteThese results show just how strongly staff feel. The new contract is deeply unpopular. If there is ever a time to end the Tesco / USDAW alliance, it is now.
The real issue at least in my opinion is the so called partnership between Tesco and Usdaw, that in my own opinion is very one sided and in effect turns the union into a nodding dog that will do whatever Tesco wish.
When I was a USDAW member while working for Tesco I often asked the question what is the process if any to end the partnership or at the very least put the matter to a vote or suchlike, nobody ever seemed to know or if they did were not willing to furnish the information.
Quote from: Sherwoodforest on 24-06-22, 08:58PMWhats turnaround bonus work out like ?
Was about 3% last time
Quote from: Redshoes on 24-06-22, 11:00AMFor a union to have power it needs a high membership. I'm not surprised by the results but the wording of the questions could be seen as provocative. I'm not disagreeing but leading questions would result in a questionable survey.
How many people are willing and active forum members. Bringing things forward to the forum to go up the line is a long winded way of putting issues across but it is a way to raise issues. The forum is not about issues to be resolved in store, it can help with them though. The forum is about terms and conditions that can't be resolved in store. It takes ages as it has to go on and up the line but this latest change will have been a long time in the planning. The changes that are coming have been mentioned for years. It should be no big surprise to anybody. Changes are often never liked but the impact to the majority will be minimal. We all have the whole store to deliver. If PFS is closed the colleagues can work in store. No surprise they are not going to be paid to do nothing. If the grocery delivery turned up so late it's not worth doing a gap scan next morning and would make more sense to do an all hands fill. A huge influx of customers turn up at the tills we again do all hands to get them through as soon as possible. Fresh delivery is late but then when it turn up it's huge, again nothing wrong in all hands. A huge batch of SELs come down, we should support. No one single area of the store is more important than another. It takes a team. We are a business and having people who will only do one small part of the production is no longer viable.
The problem I have is how managers are already treating it before it even comes into force. I been busy all day on customer services, no tidying up done, an now they demand one of us go an tidy the shelves just because it quiet on customer service. He tried to mention whole it the new contract and say I had to go, I said not until October an he walked off in a hump.
An the same manager never send his staff over to help us out at customer services or tills even through 2 of them are trained for tills, he always tell not to go when called.
Is there any good reason why we can't go on strike? If people all over the country are feeling so unhappy with pay/working conditions could it be an option?
This is a wild stab in the dark; But we cant go on strike, as the 1] UNION would not allow or partake of it. and most importantly 2] The staff or majority wouldn't dare or attempt to do it!
the majority of the workforce is now students or youngsters living at home. they would never strike because most of them are happy with their low hour contracts as long as they are getting a few quid for their beer and nandos,etc
That's interesting as the majority of our workforce are longtimers.Perhaps that's why I saw it as maybe an option
In the extra store in the survey, it is about 50/50 old timers to new starters. Although a lot of old timers have plans to leave within a handful of years. The constantly increasing demands placed upon us is becoming draining. So I guess it is in transition.
You can all strike without the unions say so and get paid! Just go on long term sick! This hits the company harder than any strike can.
in my opinion the best thing to do would be to get the Partnership Agreement withdrawn and force Useless to act like a proper union - they would then be answerable directly to us rather than taking our money for nothing and hiding behind the agreement. Ever wondered why Useless don't ballot us or even communicate directly? well you can thank the Partnership Agreement for that and the Forum. Everybody forgets exactly why we have the Forum, it was sold to the members as the way forward when in reality we just castrated ourselves at Useless's behest.
Quote from: radaghastly on 25-06-22, 08:47PMIn the extra store in the survey, it is about 50/50 old timers to new starters. Although a lot of old timers have plans to leave within a handful of years. The constantly increasing demands placed upon us is becoming draining. So I guess it is in transition.
Its like this at the store I work at, many of the old timers are marking time to retirement or actively looking for other jobs. One lady I worked with had done 20 years and still got a job elsewhere (tight gits refused to give her a 20 yr award as she handed her notice in just after she had reached the date). to be honest I have found its not the pick, fill and till putting staff off its the constant low staffing levels and stress trying to get the work done each shift, the constant will you do overtime and the fact they are saying you could be asked to do your contract hours on different days/times. Other staff like me still on flexi contracts are sick of working full time hours but only have low contracts of 7.5 hr or if you are lucky 16 hrs.I work on the desk and we are short anyway and all but 2 part timers and 1 retiree (leaves in 3 months time) are actively looking for jobs elsewhere.
This is not just tesco worker problem, but in some other places too. Low contracted hours but work like full timer, it is a crafty strategy from company to cut cost.
The government should deal with this earlier, or at least the party propose a different law. Either get rid of zero hours contract, limit max overtime to certain period in a year, or the easiest are increase every overtime pay hourly.
In fact it might benefit the gov from extra tax.
Rough calculation in tesco, at least they should pay £1 to £ 1.50 an hour more. This is just to compensate holiday entitlement that overtimer wont have.
This is how the company like tesco, way of thinking of low hours contract and work more overtime.
Just for example.
A working 5 days a week and had a day holiday so A only work for 4 days, 10 hours a day with £10 hourly rate.
In real A hourly rate is not £10, but 5x10 = 50 hours. 50 hoursx £10 = £500.
£500 / (4x10 hours) = 500/40 = £ 12.5 an hour.
So if you work extra overtime 20 hours a week constantly in average, with basic 5.6 week holiday entitlement, that will be 110 hours a year that company saved from just one person, with £9.55 rate, its about £1.069 a year per person.
Never know, one day gov might deal with this and might deal with flexi hours, cos flexi hours will reduce the ability of planning your daily life and that will reduce the quality of life cos something to sacrifice and that should earn compensation in good professional environment.
Totot, are you saying that colleagues don't get paid holiday pay correctly?
Holiday is actually paid as an average of the previous 52 weeks minus sickness absences, etc - in which case they go further back. This average includes all overtime worked during those 52 weeks. I'm a wages clerk and I have seen one day workers contracted to a 7.50 hour shift receive over £300 for their one contracted day holiday.
Having re-read your comment I think you mean they should receive more holiday entitlement but colleagues don't lose out as the holiday pay compensates.
Quote from: penguin on 25-06-22, 02:32PMQuoteThese results show just how strongly staff feel. The new contract is deeply unpopular. If there is ever a time to end the Tesco / USDAW alliance, it is now.
The real issue at least in my opinion is the so called partnership between Tesco and Usdaw, that in my own opinion is very one sided and in effect turns the union into a nodding dog that will do whatever Tesco wish.
When I was a USDAW member while working for Tesco I often asked the question what is the process if any to end the partnership or at the very least put the matter to a vote or suchlike, nobody ever seemed to know or if they did were not willing to furnish the information.
Seemingly this is what the forum is for. We tell the union reps that we want out of the partnership agreement and want to get back to one member one vote, they take it higher and then Usdaw may act on it. Same as wage negotiations, we tell the reps what we want and they take it higher.
Elly1519 Yup is holiday entitlement that come from the beginning of the calendar.
This is again will affecting one ability to plan their life ahead, and with flexi contract it will even worse. Plus, when they can't do extra overtime because of sickness, maternity, etc, they won't have entitled holiday like other fixed hour staff.
The number show just in extreme side one, since some using average, some or not, some base on extra pay, but even with average last year, it wont be paid the actual earned to date or can't claim the day off for holiday like other. That is why i think it is more fair to put extra hour on overtime rate rather than got the same holiday entitlement with different hourly rate.
Or actual holiday earned to date but this mean someone may have to carry holiday entitlement to the next calendar year.
The concept of holiday supposed to have two reason, first is financial reason that employee wont lose out financially, and 2nd is to have a break from the work, to refresh physically and mentally. This got forgotten over time, and in worse case scenario, we might heading like south korea, japan or china, even like US who dont have much holiday entitlement.
Tesco is only going to get worse. Get a new job. Stop wasting money on daft forums.
so what are you going to replace the forum with then? Right now it's all we have
OK so I got an interview last week very quickly after an application and was called yesterday and told I got it! Back to office work for me :).
Handing notice in at work today, and I bet there will be alot of shocked faces. But it took 8 months to be offered a permanant contract and they are constantly promising to increase my contract from 7.5 but nothing happens. New job is office work like I used to do for a large well known online travel company-the office is amazing lol. Is salaried, a fair bit more money, guaranteed hours and although there are some weekend shifts its spilt over all the section so you get at least some weekends off (hardly had any weekends off in the whole time at Tesco). Your shifts are set months in advance and no late nights so can plan for "life".
Really happy, but there are some people I will miss at work (no managers lol). But to people on here there are other jobs and better conditions that at Tesco.
Wish me luck I go in about 1230 eeek.
Admin: :thumbup:
8-) good luck in your new job :thumbup:
Use your last week to ensure you get all monies owed...unused holiday entitlement, including any overtime you worked to add to you holiday entitlement, also any unused BH earned!
Don't be fobbed off, arrange a meeting with your manager to go through it all, as once you've left it becomes nigh on impossible to get anyone to speak to, to sort out any discrepancies :-X :-X
Don't be surprised to find that your managers will appear indifferent to you leaving, some take it as a personal affront!
Our SM used to tell people they'd already been replaced, and any manager leaving, was told they'd wasted their opportunities, as they could have aspired to an SM like him!! Yea, they don't want to be a little lying, bullying narcissist mate, that's why they're leaving...DIPSTICK :-*
So, if a colleague is leaving, given there weeks notice, but is owed say 4 days holiday or BH, can that be used the week before you leave or is it to be all paid instead!
It depends if the department is fully covered. If they have others on booked leave, then usually the manager will not agree to it being taken, and it will be paid.
@lucgeo - actually I thought that may be the case. Thanks. Unlike some negative criticism of VLH, I take note of these replies and points. It all goes down for future ref. as I know it will come in useful one day.
Quote from: century99 on 29-06-22, 09:13AMOK so I got an interview last week very quickly after an application and was called yesterday and told I got it! Back to office work for me :).
Handing notice in at work today, and I bet there will be alot of shocked faces. But it took 8 months to be offered a permanant contract and they are constantly promising to increase my contract from 7.5 but nothing happens. New job is office work like I used to do for a large well known online travel company-the office is amazing lol. Is salaried, a fair bit more money, guaranteed hours and although there are some weekend shifts its spilt over all the section so you get at least some weekends off (hardly had any weekends off in the whole time at Tesco). Your shifts are set months in advance and no late nights so can plan for "life".
Really happy, but there are some people I will miss at work (no managers lol). But to people on here there are other jobs and better conditions that at Tesco.
Wish me luck I go in about 1230 eeek.
Admin: :thumbup:
Good luck in your new job.
Our store has lost a fair amount of 'temporary' colleagues this way.They are all very nervous as their temporary contract draws to an end and they've not heard anything from management. When they ask if they are being kept on, they are told they may be kept on for a while. This continues for months without management giving them a proper contract. The colleague then applies and gets another job and then management steps in to offer them a proper contract (16 hrs +) Way too little, far too late.
I hate Usdaw and would love to opt out,tesco would be made up if everyone done this though,as they wouldn't recognise another union I even asked our useless rep why we not allowed to ballet,she said tesco got rid of it because it wasn't getting used 8-) I have to stay in my union because of all changes that's happening on stock control atm,won't be long before that's gone
The no ballot is part of the partnership agreement. Store colleagues were offered the chance to disagree, but at the time, Tesco was the place, in retail, to work. Highest wages, good benefits, a social club and very well staffed, complacency was high!
That was 24 years ago. It is a different Tesco & a different workforce today. The partnership agreement, as it stands now, is not fit for purpose.
They can tear up our contract every time they think of better way to screw us over & we can do nothing.
The question is - how can we change things? Is there anything we can do? Any organisation that can step in and help?
The difficulty is that the membership is spread across the country and stores, so to bring in a vote of no confidence, every member would need to be canvassed and agree. A mammoth task and USDAW know this!
The only way to bring the union down would be to withdraw membership, as I believe they must have a certain % of members to be recognised as the representative union ???
On the gov.uk website, there is a section on the rules to derecognise a union.
New agreement promises to give extra contracted hours to existing colleagues before recruiting. The colleagues on less than 16 hours are given priority ut if none of them want additional hours it goes to those on more than 16 hours. If nobody wants additional shifts it then has to be recruitment.
If a store is over hours they have to build a business case to be able to recruit. If they do this they may still be able to recruit. It's the same with giving additional hours to existing colleagues. If store is over hours they have to put forward a business case to give out additional contracted hours.
Quote from: lucgeo on 30-06-22, 06:21AMThe no ballot is part of the partnership agreement. Store colleagues were offered the chance to disagree, but at the time, Tesco was the place, in retail, to work. Highest wages, good benefits, a social club and very well staffed, complacency was high!
That was back in the days when at least a fair number of people in senior roles knew staff need to be treated and recompensed well, then it all went downhill about 15 years ago and the race to the bottom began.
Hello, I'm a reporter at Novara. I am wondering if you're interested in speaking for an article I'm writing? Email me and I can explain further - polly@novaramedia.com
@mollykent. Read already, please do not repeat post. VLH Administrator.
My apologies - wasn't sure if quoting or replying was the right way to add to the thread, so tried both.
Over the years we've lost Sunday/bank holiday/night premiums we've had rubbish pay rises endless changes to our contracts, and I ever here from management is "it's been approved by the union". I've never been asked to vote on anything, when I asked the rep they said no one wanted to so I asked have you asked them and he replied no. £120 a year I pay for a useless union that really is just a social club for Tesco. Trouble is you feel like you have stay in just in case.
Its actually even worse than that, if you can believe it. The contract says that any rules on the web site must be adhered to - I don't check it very often, but the last time I did there were 17 changes that month. They have signed us up to a moving target. It is ridiculous.
Quote from: Grizzly on 16-07-22, 08:30AMOver the years we've lost Sunday/bank holiday/night premiums we've had rubbish pay rises endless changes to our contracts, and I ever here from management is "it's been approved by the union". I've never been asked to vote on anything, when I asked the rep they said no one wanted to so I asked have you asked them and he replied no. £120 a year I pay for a useless union that really is just a social club for Tesco. Trouble is you feel like you have stay in just in case.
Your last sentence sums up USDAW membership perfectly. It's a bit like an insurance policy - most times you won't need to claim - but we're all deluding ourselves if we think that USDAW are protecting or improving our overall pay and conditions.
The only reason to stay in the union is to represent us in the case of any disciplinary or other issues in our own workplace. If you have a good rep(s) in your store, then it's more reason - as for my store, our rep (who was average at best) left over 18 months ago - temporarily replaced by someone who worked on nights and was rarely (if ever) available for meetings during my work hours (days and weekends) - and then that person became a manager and stepped down as rep and no rep in our store ever since.
Thankfully I haven't had a need to call the regional office and ask for a rep - but I just feel without "personal knowledge of the store" their help is less effective.
In terms of various bits and pieces being eroded over time - much as I'd love to castigate Tesco, this has applied across all retailers and other industries too; oh for the days when overtime was paid at time and a half - or Weekend working also attracted premiums -
The main driver behind many of these changes has been the change of direction in minimum wage legislation - Go back 10 years or more and min wages were introduced at a really low level - some 10-15% below what most "decent" employers were paying - so not an issue - the only organisations it really affected were "poor employers" who paid £5 an hour because they could get away with it.
Once tthe minimum wage was increased to higher levels, it started to catch up with the base rates paid by Tsco and others (SBury/Morri/Adsa etc)
Once they were forced to pay those higher base rates, premiums became too expensive to pay - so as they were effectively not contractual - they went
It's a harsh fact of life unfortunately. None of us are irreplaceable therefore we are now paid pretty much the minimum that companies can get away with legally.
All of us are fairly confident that Sunday/BH premiums are likely to disappear within the next couple of years - and possible even night premiums.
In terms of the request from MollyKent - I'm not entirely sure there's much of a story here - yes we don't like being treated like we don't matter - but are we being treated any differently from a significant % of the UK working population?
What is a bit gnawing is how USDAW actually proclaim what a great job they are doing in getting us an hourly rate of £10 an hour - despite the fact that in 9 months time it's likely to be the legal minimum wage.
USDAW need to raise their sights and come out with something like "15% above the NLW" and maintaining it year on year - a bit like a tracker mortgage/savings account - so we always know where we stand - the pay rises agreed in the last six or seven years have been mired in red tape - or what I really mean is there has been delay after delay - i.e. they announce pay rise in Feb, but we wait until July/Oct/Nov to actually receive it - whereas if we did get USDAW to achieve a "tracker type agreement" - then we know it would always go up from 1st April (unless the Govt change the date of the NLW increase).
@ barafear
"Thankfully I haven't had a need to call the regional office and ask for a rep - but I just feel without "personal knowledge of the store" their help is less effective."
I always found that a positive. The called in rep, should have all the knowledge in dealing with most disputes and disciplinary meetings...PLUS...they have no allegiance with any manager, they're not bothered about any recriminations from the SM, and feel more able to speak their mind, which some instore reps lack!
I agree with the rest of your post, USDAW are a money making company, first and foremost. They spend your subs money like confetti, have so many sidelines selling insurance, cars, giving away useless little freebies and make massive donations to the Labour Party! :-X
The reps at my store are more friendly with the managers than the real people but I shouldn't complain I do get a worthless magazine sent out with some great pretty useless info about Doris who worked for Tesco for 400 years and to congratulate her they've given her a final warning or something. I bet the miners wish they had a union like that during the miners strikes.
USDAW = Fake Union. Don't waste you're time and money on them. I have no idea what they've ever achieved or why they even exist.
Its a minimum wage job, wasting your £10 to pay usdaw who seemingly work hand in hand with Tesco is a poor return insurance policy I'm thinking. In this current climate there's better paid employment elsewhere but if your set on retail than except its limitations Tesco glory days are long gone but it's a job!
apparently they put up the weekly charges without any notice. most staff at my store are with the union and they are all demanding why they werent told its gone up lol.
just what DO usdaw DO?
(Forgot to say, only reason most us have them is "insurance" with any disputes, but what i mean by what "do they do" is the rest.. like.. fair pay for example.. and also we arent allowed to strike as we are "essential workers" but I've seen other "essential workers" strike.. we should be allowed if necessary.
Surprised no-one has commented on the latest update on "OurT3sco" on this very subject. Doubt I can link to it - so will copy and paste a bit:
"On 20 July 2022, I was delighted to attend a ceremony with USDAW to formally sign our new partnership agreement, which ensures we continue to work together to secure the best possible level of support and voice for our store colleagues.
Our commitment to colleagues has never been stronger. You really are at the heart of our business; you work incredibly hard to overcome any challenges we face, while maintaining a great level of service and availability for our customers. That's why we believe it's so important to listen to how you're feeling, and take the time to understand what really matters to you. Collaborative conversations between Tesco, USDAW and colleague representatives allow us to directly and explicitly hear your views – through numerous local and national forums, consulting on changes within our business, and when negotiating improvements to pay and reward. Together, we reach the best outcomes and agreements we can.
We will continue to build strong relationships with the unions and organisations we work with, to make the best investments in your future and ensure Tesco remains a great place to work for all."
This was written by the Director of People, Emma Taylor.
7 comments on OurT3sco - none of which in the least bit positive. The fact there are only 7 shows how apathetic we've become.
But again, it makes me angry that T delight in telling us what great news it is. they also headed up the news as "investing in our colleagues".
It appears that the latest estimates for NLW are in the region of £10.20 for April 2023 and nearly £11 for April 2024.
As I said in a previous post though, I wonder if big employers (such as T) won't have a quiet word in someone's ear before it becomes official.
Can't see T or the others for that matter wanting to (or affording to without cutting their profits and divis and Senior mgt salaries) give pay rises to meet those levels.
Sounds to me like tosco are delighted that the union has probably agreed to keep quiet about any changes they wish to make until it's to late then the s/managers can say "it was agreed with the union " even though the union members have never been asked if there happy with any changes.it really is a shower of sh#t that represents the workers and they say there here for us.all there here for is my £10 a month.
After years of threating to cancel my membership I've finally done it. The latest contract changes during the recent pay negotiations without any prior consultation to members was the final straw for me. So what if the partnership agreement says they can do so without consulting memebers first, that doesn't make it right. Nothing I can do to change the situation but I sure as hell won't be funding this mickey mouse Union any longer. At the end of the day I am a GA working in tesco who pay me minimum wage, give or take, so me giving up 10 quid plus a month out of my wages for usdaw is just plain silly. There's no incentive to be in a union that doest stand up to protect your pay and conditions, which they have proved time and again they don't.
As a side note, after handing in my cancellation letter to my wages clerk and thinking that was it I then received a letter from usdaw to my home address stating they had received my cancellation request but my membership wasn't yet cancelled until I filled out another form confirming it and stating my reason for leaving. The letter lists "all the benefits" of being a member and seems to be just another hoop put there to jump through to try to get you to change your mind last minute.
Aldi announced a second pay rise this year for its staff and we havent even had our first! local maccies already paying 16 year olds £10.10 an hour and they are a franchise.
Noticed a report in the newspaper this morning about Aldi increasing pay to £10.50 (albeit, I'm sure someone on here had mentioned it a few days back on another thread) - in the same story, it stated that other supermarkets had recently increased pay to around £10 an hour - and incorrectly stated that Tesko had increased pay to £10.10 from June.
Should have read the 24th July (or nearly August).
Unless there is some sort of pressure/intervention put on by big business, it's fairly short odds that the NLW from next April will be more than £10.10 - so effectively, Tesko will be forced to increase their pay again - I think the announcement of the NLW is normally around November - so that give T about four months notice -
Of course, there's little point in whinging - unfortunately retail is and will continue to be an unskilled minimum wage occupation.
If you do work in retail, make the best of it for your own personal circumstances - hours that suit - extra pocket money etc.
But relying on it for a full time wage/job is a real struggle.
Quote from: radaghastly on 24-06-22, 12:35AMI am sick of our contract & working conditions constantly being degraded. There is a huge amount of bad feeling on the shop floor over the new contracts that have been approved on our behalf by USDAW.
The collective bargaining agreement allows USDAW to legally do this. At this point it seems they will green-light whatever Tesco asks of them. It is becoming apparent, that they are no longer representing the best interests of the Tesco workers who are paying them.
I mentioned my discontent in the "New contract concerns" post - but felt that to comment further there, might be considered hijacking the thread - so I have started this one to keep thing on-point.
FarmerFred pointed me towards the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). They oversee these bargaining agreements, however, USDAW are an independent union and do not fall under the jurisdiction of the CAC. Furthermore they only cover agreements made after 2001 - I believe the partnership agreement began in 1998.
I have carried out a questionnaire survey of staff in my own (extra) store, to gauge how people felt. I asked the questions as neutrally as possible & included "no opinion" as one of the answers - in order to assess what levels of apathy there might be. I got a good sampling from every department & shift.
Survey Results: (1 clipboard still to be returned - I will update figures when I have it)
Q1 Are you an USDAW member?
Yes: 56.86%
No: 43.14%
Q2 Do you approve of the new contract that has been agreed on your behalf by USDAW?
Yes: 1.96%
No: 82.35%
No opinion: 15.69%
Q3 The collective bargaining agreement between Tesco & USDAW allows changes to your contract & working conditions to be made without your consent. Would you like to end this arrangement?
Yes: 90.20%
No: 3.92%
No opinion: 5.88%
These results show just how strongly staff feel. The new contract is deeply unpopular. If there is ever a time to end the Tesco / USDAW alliance, it is now.
My question to you guys is how can we move forward with this?
Suggestions would be welcome.
s. Same in our store Totol joke we need a better union in that works for us and not tesco
Unions overall won't be around much longer by the looks of it, Sunak wants functionally outlaw them completely and Luz Truss wants to put the screws to their striking capabilities.
Union as much use as a choclate tepot now have left the union after 17 years and not lining labour pockets anymore! Will use the saving i make put to a better use....... fish n chips once a month ;D
New contract now in force, as of 15/10/22. I put the following letter on file so that I still have an option to go the constructive dismissal route later - should the need arise (if they start asking us to do stupidly unreasonable things). Customisable template & good advice in 4th paragraph of this link: (click) (https://workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/the-law-when-a-collective-bargaining-agreement-changes-your-contract/#:~:text=Trade%20unions%20can%20agree%20contract%20changes%20for%20employees,trade%20union%20%28an%20%E2%80%98implied%E2%80%99%20term%20of%20the%20contract%29)
I am writing with reference to the recent changes you told me about regarding my contractual duties.
You told me in July that I would now be working under new terms & conditions. As you know, I have worked in my current terms & conditions for 18 years as set out in my contract of employment.
I consider this change to be a breach of contract and for the avoidance of doubt, I do not accept the changes you are trying to impose.
I do not accept that the clause in my contract of employment that states you can vary the terms of my contract is specific, valid or enforceable.
I am now working "under protest" and this letter is formal notification of this. You should not interpret my continuing to work under the new terms as an acceptance of your ongoing breach of contract.
It was always in the policy"any reasonable request".theres nothing unreasonable about being asked to serve,pick or fill if your trained,maybe retail not for you if you dont understand the importance of each job,as its only customer service
radaghastly, that letter will not give you the chance to go down constructive dismissal route. The correct notice has been given and as said above when working in retail most jobs that can be undertaken in a store would fall under a reasonable request anyway. If they asked you to do something really daft like drive a dotcom van when your legally not able to drive or climb on the roof of the store without safety provisions, then current laws and health and safety bodies would be your point of call.
USDAW have always been in Tesco's back pocket, I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them! Tesco backhanders they have taken for years to do whatever Tesco want them to do! They haven't had a penny from me in the 30 odd years I've worked in retail.... 😡😡
Quote from: radaghastly on 18-10-22, 03:06PMNew contract now in force, as of 15/10/22. I put the following letter on file so that I still have an option to go the constructive dismissal route later - should the need arise (if they start asking us to do stupidly unreasonable things). Customisable template & good advice in 4th paragraph of this link: (click) (https://workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/the-law-when-a-collective-bargaining-agreement-changes-your-contract/#:~:text=Trade%20unions%20can%20agree%20contract%20changes%20for%20employees,trade%20union%20%28an%20%E2%80%98implied%E2%80%99%20term%20of%20the%20contract%29)
I am writing with reference to the recent changes you told me about regarding my contractual duties.
You told me in July that I would now be working under new terms & conditions. As you know, I have worked in my current terms & conditions for 18 years as set out in my contract of employment.
I consider this change to be a breach of contract and for the avoidance of doubt, I do not accept the changes you are trying to impose.
I do not accept that the clause in my contract of employment that states you can vary the terms of my contract is specific, valid or enforceable.
I am now working "under protest" and this letter is formal notification of this. You should not interpret my continuing to work under the new terms as an acceptance of your ongoing breach of contract.
If you accept the wage you accept the change.