PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
Sainsbury's and the National Living Wage (29 March 2022)

That this House supports the Living Wage campaign; recognises that supermarket workers have been key workers throughout the pandemic; acknowledges that these workers are one of the largest groups of low-paid workers in the UK; notes that 42 per cent of all supermarket workers, 366,000 people, earn less than the real Living Wage; recognises that women and ethnic minority workers are disproportionately affected, with 49 per cent of women and 44 per cent of ethnic minority workers earning less than the real Living Wage compared to 35 per cent of their male and 41 per cent of their white colleagues; is concerned that with the combination of higher National Insurance contributions, Universal Credit cuts and a freeze on the income tax personal allowance, the average supermarket worker will be £1,040 worse off in 2022 than 2021; further notes that this is happening against a backdrop of high-inflation and gas price hikes, and will have a disproportionate impact on lower paid households which spend a larger proportion of income on gas, electricity and food; understands that effective stewardship, defined as investors engaging with their portfolio companies and voting at their AGMs, can lead to more responsible business practices; supports the campaign work of NGO ShareAction working with industry to use these levers in corporate engagement, convening 10 institutional investors and 109 individual investors representing £2.2 trillion to require Sainsbury’s to pay all workers, including third-party contracted workers, the Living Wage; and calls on the Government to join them in making this demand to the wider supermarket sector.

Sponsored by:
Dame Siobhain McDonagh (Labour)