Asda is set to reduce the hourly rates for 1,500 of its delivery drivers as it scraps the £1.50-an-hour premium, which it had promised would run until Christmas.
Originally rolled out during the summer, the temporary premium was designed recruit drivers to deliver groceries to customers homes across three of its London stores and via outlets in Bristol and the south coast.
Asda has since said the trial has not been “delivering desired results”, and is now set to scrap it on 21 October.
“Asda’s attempt to address its driver shortage was a sticking plaster that was never going to work. Asda needs to address the fundamental issue: driver pay is much lower than other retailers – as is their shop-floor pay,” said Nadine Houghton, GMB union national officer.
Earlier this the week, Houghton had warned half of Asda workers will struggle to afford Christmas dinner.
“Without an urgent pay rise, Christmas will be cancelled for thousands of Asda workers,” she stressed.
“The biggest squeeze on living standards in over a generation is an issue Asda bosses cannot ignore. We are now seeing mid-year pay increases being awarded by other retailers, leaving Asda playing catch up instead of leading the way on staff pay and benefits.
“GMB is now calling on Asda to act quickly and invest in its staff to stop them facing a truly bleak winter.”
Asda’s competitors Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Aldi have all recently increased their rates of pay in a bid to help workers amid the cost-of-living crisis.
