More than 150 MPs set to demand Asda backs down over ‘unscrupulous’ staff pay proposals

More than 150 MPs have added their name to a campaign calling on Asda to drop controversial new pay proposals for its workers, heaping further pressure on the supermarket chain just a week after its planned merger with Sainsbury’s was blocked.

Politicians have signed a letter written by Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh that accuses Asda of leaving thousands of workers financially worse off through new "unscrupulous contract changes".

Read more: MPs to ramp up pressure on Asda over 'appalling' wage shake-up plans

CityAM understands that support for the letter, which is set to be sent to Asda chief executive Roger Burnley, has been gathering steam in recent days, with over 150 MPs adding their names to the petition so far.  

Last month Asda announced that consultations were taking place to simplify terms for hourly paid workers and raise the basic rate of pay to £9 per hour for all of its retail employees.

McDonagh, whose letter alleges that Asda's new proposals act as a "smokescreen" for unpaid breaks and shortened night shifts, has urged Burnley to "ensure that no Asda employee receives a pay cut under these proposals".

An Asda spokesperson said: "We are currently consulting with our colleagues and their representatives over a proposal to invest in an increased rate of pay and changes to terms and conditions, which would enable us to deliver better service to our customers in an intensely competitive marketplace and would make 95% of our colleagues financially better off. This consultation is ongoing and we will always have conversations about change with our colleagues first."

The MP for Mitcham and Morden claims that 2,700 employees will lose as much as £500 per year, with a further 300 harder hit from the changes.

"We warmly welcome the pay rise that some of your employees will receive under these proposed changes. However, we are utterly appalled that this is to the detriment of 3,000 of your staff who are set to see their wages slashed," McDonagh wrote in the letter.

She added: "We are completely dismayed that a company of your reputation would use an increase in basic pay as a smokescreen to cut the pay of so many of your most longstanding staff."

In its proposals Asda said: "While the vast majority of colleagues will benefit financially from the new proposals, Asda estimates that around five per cent of its retail colleagues would be financially worse off. It proposes to provide a transitional payment to these colleagues, which it intends to agree during the consultation period."

The comments are the latest public setback for Asda after the firm's plans for a tie-up with fellow supermarket chain Sainsbury’s were dealt a lethal blow last week by the UK’s competition watchdog, which said that the merger would have led to higher prices for consumers.

Read more: Watchdog kills Sainsbury's-Asda merger: What went wrong?

Responding to McDonagh’s claims earlier this month, Burnley said: "As a retailer, our job is to serve our customers’ needs. That means we need to have the right colleagues in the right place at the right time. As our customers change the way that they shop, we need to ensure that we have the flexibility to change with them in order to remain competitive."