Superdrug have pulled out of workfare ahead of a weekend of action on high streets across the UK
A busy week of action has seen Superdrug pull out of workfare – the promise of demos taking place across the UK this Saturday must have helped!
Unfortunately other high street chains are still profiting from unpaid work. What you are doing works! We are winning so let’s keep it up and let more businesses know workfare is wrong!
Please contact the following companies today. If you’d like to use a standard letter, there’s one here.
Note: Retailers like to claim these schemes are voluntary. Read more about why they’re not.
Debenhams
Debenhams has 165 stores across the UK and Ireland and has a turnover of £2.2 billion. They too have been taking advantage of wageless, rightless workers supplied by the DWP at the taxpayers’ expense. They’re very keen to insist that the scheme they’re involved in is voluntary, but DWP rules say if you don’t get take part you’re referred to a scheme which carries 3 year sanctions. So it’s only voluntary if you say yes.
Press Office: press.office@debenhams.com
Customer services: customerrelations@debenhams.com
Company secretary: company.secretariat@debenhams.com (Paul Eardley)
Facebook: Debenhams – the official page
Twitter: Tweet to @debenhams
Poundland
Countless reports of workfare in Poundland’s stores have emerged, and the retailer has come under particular pressure since Cait Reilly successfully challenged her Poundland placement in the courts. So much so that instead of staying involved in the existing workfare schemes, they have set up their own. They tell us: “We currently have people taking part in work experience placements across 71 of our stores, and since launching the scheme, 20% have been offered a job with us”. That’s 80% who have worked for free for nothing. Poundland profits soared to £40 million last year. If Poundland needs people to work in its stores, it can pay them.
Feedback form: click here
Press centre: poundland@bottlepr.co.uk
Chief Executive (Warburg Pincus – their US based private equity fund owners): egustafson@warburgpincus.com
Facebook: Poundland
Twitter: Tweet to @poundland
Asda
Asda has been at the heart of workfare in the UK, helping the government relaunch its “Work Experience” scheme last year. We have had reports that one of their stores in Manchester uses disabled people on workfare on the night shift. They are frank about their involvement here.
Asda contact form: Click here
Facebook: Asda
Twitter: Tweet to @asda
Argos
Argos appears to be using six week placements from the Job Centre on a massive scale. Multiple reports of Argos using workfare placements so that paid staff hours are being reduced and fewer Christmas temps employed have emerged.
Business email: info@argos.co.uk
Corporate responsibility (HRG): gordon.bentley@homeretailgroup.com, corporate.responsibility@homeretailgroup.com
Media relations (HRG): media.relations@homeretailgroup.com
Managing director: john.walden@argos.co.uk
Head Office (01908 690333)
Customer Services (01785 710253)
Facebook: Argos
Twitter: Tweet to @Argos_Online
Tesco
Tesco has committed to 3000 workfare placements, and so far 80% of the 1500 people who have gone through their stores have not been given a job. In response to public pressure, they have introduced a fudge which offers people a place on their own scheme instead but this misses the point.
Tesco’s profits last year were £1.7 billion. 1500 eight week, thirty hour placements would mean the company has so far profited from 360,000 hours of free labour on the schemes. Tesco need to stop fudging the issue, pull out of workfare and start paying every single person who works in their stores a living wage.
Head office email address: online@tesco.co.uk
Customer service email address: customer.service@tesco.co.uk
Phil Clarke, Current CEO of Tesco’s: philip.clarke@uk.tesco.com
Telephone: 0845 7225533 (Head office number) or 0845 600 4411 (This is the number for Tesco direct)
Facebook: Tesco
Twitter: Tweet to @UKTesco
And to contact even more workfare exploiters, visit the handy list of contact details on Another Angry Voice’s blog and see an even longer list of those involved here.
