M&S distribution workers in Warrington facing double hammer blow

Members of Unite, the UK’s largest union, employed by XPO Logistics at a distribution centre owned by Marks & Spencer in Hardwick Grange, Warrington, are facing a double hammer blow as they face redundancy and a continuous failure to pay them their correct wages, the union claimed.

Marks & Spencer has decided to close the site on September 28, with the loss of 388 jobs, including many workers who have been employed at the site for 30 years.

Unite says, in a double whammy XPO Logistics has also recently introduced a new payroll system which has resulted in workers being paid incorrectly on a weekly basis.

Despite several meetings to resolve the issue, Unite claims XPO Logistics has tried to wash their hands of the matter citing it is a ‘national issue’, and the company has been unable to provide any information about when the problem will be resolved.

The issue is made more pressing as the redundancy process will start next Friday, August 3, and the workers involved do not know whether they will receive their correct pay after they leave.

Unite says, to add insult to injury, during a meeting that sought to resolve the pay issue, XPO management raised concerns that productivity at the centre had fallen and that this had to improve immediately.

While the workforce has always been highly dedicated, the forthcoming redundancy situation and the failure of the company to pay workers their correct wages has severely hit morale levels, said Unite.

Unite regional officer Steve Gerrard, said: “This situation is simply not acceptable. Staff will begin to leave the company in the first phase of redundancies next Friday and the workers involved do not know if they will ever be paid the wages that they are owed.

“The company have described the failure to pay workers’ wages as ‘a minor implementation issue’- for the workers concerned this is far from a minor issue. It is having a massive impact on workers’ ability to meet their financial commitments.

“Workers are becoming extremely angry that the company keeps fobbing them off and that they do not know from week to week how much money they will be paid.

“For XPO management to then complain about productivity when morale has hit rock bottom due to their actions, has added insult to injury.

“It is essential that the company immediately gets round the table and resolves these matters before workers leave the company next week.”

TheBusinesDesk.com contacted XPO Logistics for a comment but no-one was available.