Boots Update: Union member’s calls for pay increase for ALL workers
Wednesday 3 April 2013The Boots National Negotiating Team has written to all Mandate members in Boots to update them on the status of the current negotiations with the company.
Last week, both the company and the negotiating team attended the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) to discuss the workers’ claim for a pay increase and the payment of outstanding increments.
At the LRC, the company informed the Commission that it was not prepared to consider paying all staff a pay increase, until such time as the staff who are paid above €12 per hour agree to reduce their wages (Pay alignment), a reduction of up to €2.20 per hour – approximately 20%.
The negotiating team said: “Staff did not vote on proposals in 2009 which stated that they would be frozen on their existing rates until such time as staff employed on less than €12 per hour caught up. In fact the company in its own correspondence to staff in April 2009 clearly stated that pay would be reviewed on an annual basis.
They added that the effect of the company’s proposals would mean “some staff could have to wait for anything up to 10 years before they would receive a pay increase, whilst inflation and the increased cost of living continued to seriously impact on your ability to meet all your financial commitments.”
The negotiating team continue by saying they “are not prepared to consider any proposal that treated the staff unequally and that it is entirely unreasonable for a company like Boots who had an operating profit of €17.9m in 2012 to propose that one group of workers take a pay cut to pay for any potential increase for others.”
The company has requested an adjournment to consider its position and we are due to reconvene in the near future. The negotiating team says they will keep members informed of developments.
If you are not already a member of Mandate Trade Union, join with your Boots co-workers now to win a better deal.
