(Tuesday 2nd July) This week responsible investment NGO ShareAction will continue its campaign to tackle poverty wages on Britain’s high streets, attending the annual general meetings (AGMs) of major retailers M&S, JD Sports and Sainsbury’s to question company boards on their refusal to pay all their staff a real Living Wage of £12 an hour.
The AGMs will be taking place in the shadow of the general election where the cost-of-living crisis and the UK economy have been front and centre of the campaigning.
On Tuesday, the NGO will question M&S on why it still has not committed to pay its third-party contracted staff such as cleaners and security guards a real Living Wage, despite making profits of $480 million in the past year. It will also call on the supermarket to accredit to pay all its staff the real Living Wage on an ongoing basis.
Later in the week on Thursday, the JD Sports and Sainsbury’s AGMs will take place. Investors from ShareAction’s Good Work Coalition, will ask the sports retailer to commit to paying its staff the real Living Wage.
ShareAction will urge Sainsbury’s, which recorded a profit of £277 million in the last financial year, to ensure its third-party contracted staff who keep its stores clean and safe are being paid the real Living Wage. Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts is set to receive nearly £5 million in pay this year, which is 212 times the amount its average employee will earn, according to the High Pay Centre.
Investors from the coalition, which represents $6.6 trillion in assets under management, will attend all three AGMs to raise the issue of the reputational and long-term risks created for their portfolios by low wages.
Dan Howard, Head of Good Work at ShareAction said: “Inadequate pay is a widespread issue in the retail sector, leaving many workers struggling to make ends meet, and with all sorts of negative knock on effects on businesses from high turnover rates to low productivity.
“It’s in these businesses’ interests to pay their staff a real Living Wage, which allows workers to afford the basic goods and services they need, from housing to food to bills.
Crucially, we need to see companies accrediting as Living Wage Employers, which means they commit to paying all their staff a real Living Wage, including third-party contractors, now and into the future.”
This year, as part of its Living Wage campaign for high street workers, ShareAction is attending the AGMs of major retailers including Tesco, Greggs, Next, B&Q owner Kingfisher, to make the case for these businesses to end poverty pay.
Catherine Howarth OBE, Chief Executive at ShareAction, who will be asking one of the questions at M&S’s AGM, commented on the organisation’s approach to the campaign: “The cost-of-living crisis has made it clear that pay inequality and in-work poverty are a blight on our society and urgently need tackling.
“Businesses paying the real Living Wage is vital to protect living standards for low-paid workers and serves the long-term interests of businesses, investors, and society.
“This is why we are calling on investors to use their influence as shareholders to steward companies in the right direction and ensure all workers receive the real Living Wage.”
Notes to editors
Established by the Living Wage Foundation, the real Living Wage is the minimum hourly rate necessary for workers to afford housing, food, and other basic needs. The new real Living Wage rates for 2024/25 are £12 per hour in UK (up from £10.90) and £13.15 per hour in London (up from £11.95).
The Good Work team at ShareAction harnesses the power of shareholders to tackle income inequality and in-work poverty. Our investor coalition engages some of the biggest publicly owned companies to ensure everyone has access to decent work. This means a guaranteed Living Wage and a secure contract that ensures workers have enough to meet their everyday needs.
