Munguin's Republic: B&M

Showing posts with label B&M. Show all posts

Wednesday, 23 March 2016

YOU CAN DO IT WITHOUT B&QING IT

One of the problems that any government, SNP, Tory or Labour will have when introducing legislation on wages is that companies will simply find ways around it.

Here is a letter from an employee of B&Q, the company which was firmly on the side of the NO campaign in our referendum and which issued warnings about paused investment if we voted YES, and, when the No side won, did more than pause investment. It closed stores all over the UK, including one which was handy to Munguin's Republic in Dundee.

The writer has called himself Kevin Smith in order to hide his identity. I hope his gender, location and career history have been similarly doctored, otherwise the management of B&Q should have little difficulty in identifying him.

It's amazing what big companies like this will do in order to avoid paying people a wage, which, although it is called "a living wage", is not.

He has a campaign going here. You might want to sign, if you think B&Q is acting unfairly. If you aren't a petition signing type, you may wish to consider your DIY shopping habits.

After their behaviour in the referendum and subsequent closing of stores, I restrict my shopping there to an absolute minimum. If I can get something elsewhere, then I will. I never cut off my nose to spite my face in boycotts*, but I spend a lot less there than I used to, and I'll spend even less now.

I wonder how proud Johann Lamont is of being associated with this company!

Here is the letter/petition.

I have worked for B&Q for over 5 years, I started in the business working as a part time customer advisor and have worked my way up to a management position. I live and work in a high cost living area of London. The past month has been one of the most difficult for me personally and as a manager.

In early February 2016, after the Government announced that the minimum wage would be increased to a new ‘national living wage’, B&Q ran a consultation of its pay and rewards framework. They proposed the following changes:

removal of time and a half pay for working Sundays,
restructuring of allowances for working in high cost of living areas of the UK
removal of double time for working bank holidays (now proposed to be 1.5)
Removal of a summer and winter bonus equating to 6% of annual salary

The full time customer advisors are being hit the hardest. Those who have worked within the business for over a decade and know our customers and our business the best are losing thousands of pounds a year. B&Q are asking people to sign their new terms and conditions of employment or they will be dismissed.

As a manager it has been incredibly difficult conducting consultations with people that are set to lose thousands of pounds and telling them that if they don’t sign by March 24th they will lose their job.

Big businesses like B&Q are using the national living wage as an excuse to cut overall pay and rewards for the people that need it the most. I feel ashamed to work for a business that treats their employees with so little respect. I feel ashamed to work for a business that proposes to pay neighbouring stores two separate rates of pay. I hope that there are others out there that feel the same and support this petition.

I hope that with the support of others, through signing this petition, we can influence B&Q and other businesses to reverse these changes. I also hope they acknowledge that treating people in this way will have a negative impact on their business in the future.

I've written this petition under a pseudonym to protect myself at work.

* I know I said I would boycott B&M, and I have done. That's not cutting of your nose, in my opinion because it's no effort to not go there. It's not a good store and it sells largely nasty tacky stuff, or goods you can get elsewhere, just as cheaply... Home Bargains, for example .

Thursday, 17 September 2015

Second Day of Action against B&M Bargains:

26th September, 2015

“B&M stores started using workfare Jan 2013. Receiving free labour and stopping overtime for employees with contracts. The people forced to do this free labour are not happy and neither are the other workers.”

“Older or long term staff were sacked and a new wave of 20 workfare placements taken on.”

“Just to let you know B&M Stores have taken on new staff under a workfare scheme. This was 1 month after staff hours were cut by 50%. This meant my hours were cut from 20 to 10.”

B & M Stores use government funded Workfare scheme and replace their contracted staff with them.

The DWP says that forcing people to do work, to get experience, is good for their prospects for future employment.

In some cases this is correct, although, as a practitioner, I'd say that some match of talents and job requirements is required before any favourable outcome is likely to occur.

It's certainly true that a person with a good track record, who can show that they can get up in the morning, turn up for work on time and do a decent day's work for a decent day's pay is more likely to be employable, than someone whose CV shows a long period of unemployment.

It's just the decent day's pay that is missing here.

If B & M is so public spirited as to give people the opportunity to gain experience and the chance to update their CV with recent work, why are they so unwilling to pay them for it.

And how much good is this to the overall economy when, in order to give these "opportunities" to people, they are sacking or reducing the hours of existing staff?

What does it do for their life chances?

How does this affect the person whose hours are cut for 20 to 10? Does B & M care, or is it just happy to have an endless supply of free labour?

In my opinion it's not even a good store. Compared with Home Bargains the prices are high and the staff, perhaps not unsurprisingly, are far less helpful.

I won't just boycott the store on September 26, I'll never go back.