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 .
