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| Shock merger of Sainsbury's and ASDA throws workers into turmoil |
The shock announcement of a merger between Sainsbury's and ASDA will have thrown workers and their families into a terrible state of uncertainty. And between them, the second and third-biggest supermarkets hire over 330,000 people!
Our new Usdaw NEC - only in place for 4 days! - hasn't met yet, so I'm not pretending to represent the views of the union as a whole. But here are some initial, hastily written thoughts on this bolt-out-of-the-blue declaration, first leaked via Sky news on Saturday 28th, then confirmed today (30th) by chief executives of these giant outfits.
Secret talks have been held at least for months, if not over a year, behind the backs of the three recognized trade unions in Sainsbury's and ASDA, and therefore entirely behind the backs of the workers most immediately affected. Workers who turned up for their Saturday shift will have first heard via the media that their fate was being decided by unelected, unaccountable company chief executives, with all the worry and stress that goes with such major moves.
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| Sainsbury's, Walmart and ASDA fatcats smugly announce secret deal |
Social Partnership? Aye, Right!
This brutally explodes the sham of 'social partnership' between employers and staff, companies and workers' unions. It highlights that we may as well live on two planets, for all the fat cat bosses and workers have in common.
It displays the class-based contempt big business has for the workers who produce their fabulous profits. Every last detail was decided behind the backs of workers' unions - including that Sainsbury's current Chief Executive Officer, Mike Coupe, will be CEO of the new combination when the merger is completed in a year or so. They can trot out cliches about 'valued colleagues' (as Sainsbury's workers are called) for eternity, but it won't change the cruel reality that profit always comes before people in this system.
It displays the class-based contempt big business has for the workers who produce their fabulous profits. Every last detail was decided behind the backs of workers' unions - including that Sainsbury's current Chief Executive Officer, Mike Coupe, will be CEO of the new combination when the merger is completed in a year or so. They can trot out cliches about 'valued colleagues' (as Sainsbury's workers are called) for eternity, but it won't change the cruel reality that profit always comes before people in this system.
Monopoly Capitalism
This 'merger' will create a company with combined revenues of £51billion last year; nearly twice the entire Scottish government budget for the same twelve months. This is monopoly capitalism on display.
Leeds-based ASDA was bought over by US multinational behemoth Walmart in 1999. Two years ago, Sainsbury's took over Argos and Habitat. In this latest deal, Sainsbury's is essentially buying ASDA off Walmart in return for £3billion cash to Walmart plus a 42% share for the latter in the new combined company.
Whilst workers worried at what's happening today, share prices in Sainsbury's immediately leapt up by 20% on the gambling den also known as the Stock Exchange - meaning Walmart/ASDA's share gained £600m within hours!
Leeds-based ASDA was bought over by US multinational behemoth Walmart in 1999. Two years ago, Sainsbury's took over Argos and Habitat. In this latest deal, Sainsbury's is essentially buying ASDA off Walmart in return for £3billion cash to Walmart plus a 42% share for the latter in the new combined company.
Whilst workers worried at what's happening today, share prices in Sainsbury's immediately leapt up by 20% on the gambling den also known as the Stock Exchange - meaning Walmart/ASDA's share gained £600m within hours!
The Big Three - Choice, Capitalist-style!
It's hard to guess how Coupe and his counterparts in ASDA and Walmart kept straight faces when they tried to justify the merger with talk of 'greater choice' for customers. The new entity currently accounts for over 30% share of the market - exceeding even Tesco's 27%. The Big Four are set to become the Big Three. How does that amount to 'greater choice'?! It's monopoly capitalism, with galloping polarization between the growing mountain of wealth in the hands of a shrinking handful and the mounting insecurity and poverty pay of millions of workers.
The chief executives have cooed honeyed phrases about 'no plans' for store closures or job losses. Such promises are welcome... on the surface. But 'no plans' is a phrase any union activist can see through. It only means 'no plans we're going to tell you about right now'.
As if to pave the path to future betrayal of this 'promise', Sainsbury's Mike Coupe added in the same statement that he "could not dismiss the possibility that regulators [the government's Competition and Markets Authority - RV] could order the disposal of some sites".
As if to pave the path to future betrayal of this 'promise', Sainsbury's Mike Coupe added in the same statement that he "could not dismiss the possibility that regulators [the government's Competition and Markets Authority - RV] could order the disposal of some sites".
Store Closures?
Disposal of sites; that's people's jobs and livelihoods he's talking about!
And analysts Global Data reckon over 75 stores will have to go. On top of which the same announcement by Sainsbury's and ASDA bosses admitted they "are targeting savings of £500million, including operational efficiencies."
And analysts Global Data reckon over 75 stores will have to go. On top of which the same announcement by Sainsbury's and ASDA bosses admitted they "are targeting savings of £500million, including operational efficiencies."
It doesn't take a retail analyst to warn that if each company has a store in the same town, or same city district, or even same shopping centre, it's overwhelmingly likely one will shut. Maybe not on the day of the merger, but certainly after 'a period of grace', after the alarm bells have stopped ringing at the merger announcement.
And that doesn't even account for the threat of 'rationalization' - as the employer class call savage jobs culls - in the huge distribution centres and head offices of each merging partner.
And that doesn't even account for the threat of 'rationalization' - as the employer class call savage jobs culls - in the huge distribution centres and head offices of each merging partner.
Profit and Bosses' Privilege
If anyone still thinks we should have faith in these promises of 'no plans' of store closures or job losses, they need to recall the nature of those making these statements.
ASDA bosses helped to amass profits of £845m in 2016 and a further £720m in 2017 by subjecting their women workers to lower pay than male equivalents.
Sainsbury's are not content with making £589m in profit last year - including a rise of 11% in the second half of 2017; they are also knee-deep in slashing paid breaks, scrapping annual bonuses and scrapping several grades of team leaders and lower management.
And Sainsbury's top-dog 'colleague', Mike Coupe, has grabbed a total £6.7million in salary, bonuses and share packages since he took over in 2014. But HIS job is guaranteed, judging by his own announcement!
Sainsbury's are not content with making £589m in profit last year - including a rise of 11% in the second half of 2017; they are also knee-deep in slashing paid breaks, scrapping annual bonuses and scrapping several grades of team leaders and lower management.
And Sainsbury's top-dog 'colleague', Mike Coupe, has grabbed a total £6.7million in salary, bonuses and share packages since he took over in 2014. But HIS job is guaranteed, judging by his own announcement!
Cut-throat Competition Undermines Jobs
Without wishing to scaremonger, it's also worth considering the potential threat to jobs beyond some of those of the 330,000 in Sainsbury's and ASDA.
In an economic system where cut-throat competition is in the very nature of the beast, the new company will outstrip even Tesco's, and more so Morrisons. The drive to win more of the market share could also unsettle jobs in those two competing capitalist supermarket giants.
And with declarations of price cuts for customers, farm workers and small family farmers will also feel less than overjoyed at this merger; they already know the dictatorship of the Big Four over prices for the food they produce and supply, crucifying smaller producers in particular. Now they face the looming bullies in the form of the Big Three!
In an economic system where cut-throat competition is in the very nature of the beast, the new company will outstrip even Tesco's, and more so Morrisons. The drive to win more of the market share could also unsettle jobs in those two competing capitalist supermarket giants.
And with declarations of price cuts for customers, farm workers and small family farmers will also feel less than overjoyed at this merger; they already know the dictatorship of the Big Four over prices for the food they produce and supply, crucifying smaller producers in particular. Now they face the looming bullies in the form of the Big Three!
So what to do?
Workers in these two supermarkets are organized in three different unions. Usdaw organizes ASDA workers in N Ireland, whilst the GMB organises ASDA in the rest of the UK. Sainsbury's staff are in both Usdaw and UNITE.
All three unions have demanded immediate, urgent talks with the top management of the two firms. Quite rightly; the unions have been excluded entirely, treated with high-handed contempt in these secret plans to merge.
There should be no inter-union nonsense; no attempts to look after each union's 'own' membership at cost to other workers in the other unions. Unity of purpose and plans is critical. Common demands need to be thrashed out and fought for with maximum unity.
All three unions have demanded immediate, urgent talks with the top management of the two firms. Quite rightly; the unions have been excluded entirely, treated with high-handed contempt in these secret plans to merge.
There should be no inter-union nonsense; no attempts to look after each union's 'own' membership at cost to other workers in the other unions. Unity of purpose and plans is critical. Common demands need to be thrashed out and fought for with maximum unity.
Demand: No Job Losses!
An immediate (and I hope obvious) demand should be 'Not a single job loss'. That is a unifying demand, which should strengthen workers' confidence that the three unions will stand up for all, and block the added workload that would fall on the shoulders of remaining staff, even if future job losses were to take the form of so-called 'voluntary' redundancies.
Another appropriate demand from the unions could be 'Open the company secrets to union and public scrutiny'. With the secrecy surrounding this merger, this would allow us to demand answers on where all the profits have gone, what the real plans and prospects are, so as to arm workers with information in the battle to save all jobs, in the event of any future store closures, mergers of distribution hubs, or calls for 'voluntary redundancies'.
Another appropriate demand from the unions could be 'Open the company secrets to union and public scrutiny'. With the secrecy surrounding this merger, this would allow us to demand answers on where all the profits have gone, what the real plans and prospects are, so as to arm workers with information in the battle to save all jobs, in the event of any future store closures, mergers of distribution hubs, or calls for 'voluntary redundancies'.
Public Ownership
This whole display of monopoly ownership, and the real-life example of the dictatorship of capital over labour - of a couple of chief executives over the lives of a third of a million workers - this whole episode also highlights the alternative of public ownership and democratic control of retail giants, as agreed as a policy at Usdaw's 2017 Annual Delegate Meeting.
That's a policy that could replace the bloodletting of capitalist competition with democratically planned production, distribution and exchange.
That's a policy that could replace the bloodletting of capitalist competition with democratically planned production, distribution and exchange.
In the short term, forums of union reps and union officials in each of the unions, and in turn of all three unions combined, would help prepare for whatever action is required to prevent this merger of two capitalist profit-machines from wrecking the lives of thousands of workers.
Sainsbury's CEO, Mike 'We're in the Money' Coupe caught on camera singing his contempt for workers and their livelihoods, just before announcing the secret merger deal...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWKguEtgfAw
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