Wednesday 27 July 2011

The big british retail workers' sellout

While Mark Constantine, the founder of Lush Cosmetics, recently awarded shop workers employed by Lush the London Living Wage of £7.85 per hour, figures show that pay across the capital's  retail sector is woefully low. Here are some examples of what London's top retail companies pay their workers:
Barratts £6.00
Harmony £6.50
French Connection £5.96
Next £7.26
Marks & Spencer £7.82
Dorothy Perkins £6.00
Topshop £6.50
John Lewis £7.00 (£8.05 if you include bonus)
Souvenirs of London £5.93
Madhouse £5.93
These companies and their fat cat bosses should hang their heads in shame. If they are not prepared to follow Mark Constantine's example, then the trade union and labour movement need to work collectively to demand that all workers in the retail sector are paid a living wage now!

1 comment:

  1. Lizzie, You left out some of the biggest of them all. According to a recent Guardian article, Tesco pays its checkout staff a minimum of £7.00 an hour and Sainsbury's a minimum of £6.31 an hour. Obsecene!

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