Asda faces mass legal action over equal pay for women

[Ashmoria]

according to the OPs source the law in the UK is equal pay for work of equal value.

that's what they are suing for.

whats the big problem?

[Dejanic]

You want Asda nationalised?

Why?

Because all large companies should be?
They are creating their profit by exploiting workers. Common ownership of means of production is preferrable.

Stalinism/State ownership=/=Common ownership.

And anyway, social ownership would be preferable, supermarkets would do better as co-ops than massive bloated state apparatuses.

[Nadkor]

So much in the world to be angry about and people choose fair pay.. Tesco executives get paid hundreds and thousands to screw up, cleared by auditors, and this is but a small sample of corporate malfeasance.. let alone the global flattening if not real term decline of low end wages..

..but no, some women are asking for equal pay.. I wonder if they weigh the same as ducks so we can burn them.

Yes, how dare these uppity women ask that they be paid an equivalent amount as their male colleagues for doing equivalent work.

How dare they.

[The Nihilistic view]

You want Asda nationalised?

Why?

Because all large companies should be?
They are creating their profit by exploiting workers. Common ownership of means of production is preferrable.

[Nadkor]

according to the OPs source the law in the UK is equal pay for work of equal value.

that's what they are suing for.

whats the big problem?

Butthurt MRA dickheads furiously working themselves into a froth of misogyny?

That seems to be about it.

[The Nihilistic view]

So much in the world to be angry about and people choose fair pay.. Tesco executives get paid hundreds and thousands to screw up, cleared by auditors, and this is but a small sample of corporate malfeasance.. let alone the global flattening if not real term decline of low end wages..

..but no, some women are asking for equal pay.. I wonder if they weigh the same as ducks so we can burn them.

Yes, how dare these uppity women ask that they be paid an equivalent amount as their male colleagues for doing equivalent work.

How dare they.

Are you two reading about a different story or something?

Asda pays equal wages to men and women in the same job, they have a good record of this. This case is not about that, it's about different jobs being paid different amounts, any ruling is just as relevant to men as women.

[Bombadil]

You want Asda nationalised?

Why?

Because all large companies should be?
They are creating their profit by exploiting workers. Common ownership of means of production is preferrable.

There's nothing wrong with free market competition given it's checked by independent 3rd parties, rather than those paid by the company, such as auditors, or those where the industry appoints them themselves, such as press complaints, or those run by the government but stacked with industry insiders, such as food boards and treasuries..

It's the co-opting of checks and balances by the very people who need to be checked and balanced that's the problem.

[Central Slavia]

Because all large companies should be?
They are creating their profit by exploiting workers. Common ownership of means of production is preferrable.

There's nothing wrong with free market competition given it's checked by independent 3rd parties, rather than those paid by the company, such as auditors, or those where the industry appoints them themselves, such as press complaints, or those run by the government but stacked with industry insiders, such as food boards and treasuries..

It's the co-opting of checks and balances by the very people who need to be checked and balanced that's the problem.

Free market is a good servant but a bad master. It's OK in a very limited scope (see Jugoslavia during Tito's rule) but beyond that, enterprises should be state-run.

[Ashmoria]

according to the OPs source the law in the UK is equal pay for work of equal value.

that's what they are suing for.

whats the big problem?

Butthurt MRA dickheads furiously working themselves into a froth of misogyny?

That seems to be about it.

maybe they own stock in asda.

no one else should be against equal pay for work of equal value.

[Nadkor]

There is no such thing as a lawsuit for firing people after this.

I'm pretty damn sure that if you win some sort of compensation from your employer, and he fires you right afterwards, you can take him to court over that, and if you can show the two were related, it's bad time for him. Otherwise, employers could block employees from exercising their rights really easily.

Yes, this.

I know of a solicitor here in Belfast who wasn't made a partner, because, he believed, he was Catholic and the other partners were all Protestant. He sued them for discrimination, proved his case, and won. He was, of course, compensated handsomely.

Now he's basically untouchable. He does exactly what he is contracted to do, no more and no less, and walks out the door at 5pm every day. If they sack him for anything other than a clearly sackable offence he's got them.

Employers have to be very careful when dealing with employees who have successfully taken discrimination cases against them. They cannot just sack them.

[Ashmoria]

There's nothing wrong with free market competition given it's checked by independent 3rd parties, rather than those paid by the company, such as auditors, or those where the industry appoints them themselves, such as press complaints, or those run by the government but stacked with industry insiders, such as food boards and treasuries..

It's the co-opting of checks and balances by the very people who need to be checked and balanced that's the problem.

Free market is a good servant but a bad master. It's OK in a very limited scope (see Jugoslavia during Tito's rule) but beyond that, enterprises should be state-run.

the state is too bureaucratic and tied up in politics. a strongly regulated free market is better at delivering the goods and services that the people want.

[Southern Hampshire]

There is no such thing as a lawsuit for firing people after this.

I'm pretty damn sure that if you win some sort of compensation from your employer, and he fires you right afterwards, you can take him to court over that, and if you can show the two were related, it's bad time for him. Otherwise, employers could block employees from exercising their rights really easily.

Not in the UK.

[Nadkor]

Yes, how dare these uppity women ask that they be paid an equivalent amount as their male colleagues for doing equivalent work.

How dare they.

Are you two reading about a different story or something?

Asda pays equal wages to men and women in the same job, they have a good record of this. This case is not about that, it's about different jobs being paid different amounts, any ruling is just as relevant to men as women.

I didn't say the same pay for the same work. Although that, obviously, would be expected.

I said equivalent pay for equivalent work.

The fact is that one of the jobs is predominantly occupied by women, and one of the jobs is predominantly occupied by men. And it isn't the job that's predominantly occupied by men that's being underpaid. Shocker.

It's a basic fact that jobs undertaken predominantly by women, or that are seen to be "women's work" are significantly undervalued and underpaid in comparison to jobs historically seen to be "men's work". This is one of many examples.

If two jobs involve largely the same activities and are of roughly equivalent value to an employer then why do they not pay an equivalent amount?

Equivalent pay for equivalent work.

Apparently too much to ask for in 2014.

[Bombadil]

Yes, how dare these uppity women ask that they be paid an equivalent amount as their male colleagues for doing equivalent work.

How dare they.

Are you two reading about a different story or something?

Asda pays equal wages to men and women in the same job, they have a good record of this. This case is not about that, it's about different jobs being paid different amounts, any ruling is just as relevant to men as women.

Equal pay for equal jobs! You women are good at ironing, we men are good at being CEOs, but don't worry..

It's actually about the value of jobs, hence some men are joining in if it means equal pay for equal amount of work.. rather than 'warehouse is man work, stacking is woman work..'

What it isn't, however, is another example of feminazis beating down the man.. maybe they're right, maybe they're wrong but there's a case.

I mean.. it's not dissimilar to 'OMG people are suing because coffee is hot!' when not only did the facts of that event warrant a case, but it was part of a broader issue of taking away people's basic rights.

So much of this outrage is a part of a sustained campaign not of mad females trying to down man but corporations trying to escape responsibility, much like 'OMG regulations against smoking are an affront to freedom!!'

Corporations spend a lot of money trying to influence opinion, they're pretty damn good at it, better than a bunch of generally poorly paid people as individuals, which is why class actions are needed.

[Ashmoria]

Yes, how dare these uppity women ask that they be paid an equivalent amount as their male colleagues for doing equivalent work.

How dare they.

Are you two reading about a different story or something?

Asda pays equal wages to men and women in the same job, they have a good record of this. This case is not about that, it's about different jobs being paid different amounts, any ruling is just as relevant to men as women.

did you read the source in the OP?

the law in the UK is equal pay for WORK OF EQUAL VALUE. not just "same job".

maybe you don't like that law *shrug* but there is nothing wrong with suing on the basis of the law of the land.

more women than men will benefit (if they win) but all employees who worked for the lower wages will receive the benefit of the ruling no matter their gender.

[Central Slavia]

I'm pretty damn sure that if you win some sort of compensation from your employer, and he fires you right afterwards, you can take him to court over that, and if you can show the two were related, it's bad time for him. Otherwise, employers could block employees from exercising their rights really easily.

Not in the UK.

Nadkor cites a case happening in Belfast with just this... and that's very much the UK.

[Nadkor]

If you read the article, you will see that the difference in pay is as much as £4/hour. In a 48 hour working week that's just under £10,000 per year.

The UK minimum wage for employees over the age of 21 is £6.50/hour. We can safely assume that Asda is paying at or only slightly above minimum wage. Let's be generous and say that those working on the floor are paid £7/hour. In a 48 hour week that's £17,472 per year.

Those working in the warehouse could, with an extra £4/hour, be making £27,456. Floor workers would make 63p for every £1 earned in the warehouse.

Is anyone here seriously arguing that the difference in value between the work done in the warehouse and the work done on the shop floor is so great as to warrant such a disparity in pay?

Seriously?

[Parti Ouvrier]

pay should reflect the difficulty of the job, and the warehouse one seems to be more difficult.

I have, in fact, worked both. Neither were in Asda - I worked in the warehouse in a Sainsbury's and on the floor/checkouts in a Tesco.

I am not strong, and I am not a particularly physical person generally, but give me the warehouse any day of the week. The floor is equally as 'back-breaking' as the warehouse, but in the warehouse you don't have to deal with the general fucking public.

They're not all bad, I think this says more about you than the general public.

Ask anyone who works in retail and they will tell you that the worst part of their job is the public. Any retail worker dealing with the public on a regular basis is a saint if they haven't snapped and killed after half an hour.

That doesn't sound like a scientific poll to me. And I find the next sentence rather disturbing.

Asda should be paying these people millions.

But they won't of course, I'm sure you know why, its not how capitalism works.

[Coreyea]

I wouldn't shop at a place called "Asda". That's just weird.

[Bombadil]

If you read the article, you will see that the difference in pay is as much as £4/hour. In a 48 hour working week that's just under £10,000 per year.

The UK minimum wage for employees over the age of 21 is £6.50/hour. We can safely assume that Asda is paying at or only slightly above minimum wage. Let's be generous and say that those working on the floor are paid £7/hour. In a 48 hour week that's £17,472 per year.

Those working in the warehouse could, with an extra £4/hour, be making £27,456. Floor workers would make 63p for every £1 earned in the warehouse.

Is anyone here seriously arguing that the difference in value between the work done in the warehouse and the work done on the shop floor is so great as to warrant such a disparity in pay?

Serously?

Wait, so if I hire females under 21..

*profit*

[Farnhamia]

If you read the article, you will see that the difference in pay is as much as £4/hour. In a 48 hour working week that's just under £10,000 per year.

The UK minimum wage for employees over the age of 21 is £6.50/hour. We can safely assume that Asda is paying at or only slightly above minimum wage. Let's be generous and say that those working on the floor are paid £7/hour. In a 48 hour week that's £17,472 per year.

Those working in the warehouse could, with an extra £4/hour, be making £27,456. Floor workers would make 63p for every £1 earned in the warehouse.

Is anyone here seriously arguing that the difference in value between the work done in the warehouse and the work done on the shop floor is so great as to warrant such a disparity in pay?

Serously?

Wait, so if I hire females under 21..

*profit*

If you're a subsidiary of Walmart, like Asda is, that's pretty much mandatory, I think.

[Dakini]

according to the OPs source the law in the UK is equal pay for work of equal value.

that's what they are suing for.

whats the big problem?

Butthurt MRA dickheads furiously working themselves into a froth of misogyny?

That seems to be about it.

The fun part here is that if the women win, this ruling would also benefit all the men who work in the retail sector of the company too. You'd think it would be a win-win situation as far as it goes.

[Ashmoria]

Butthurt MRA dickheads furiously working themselves into a froth of misogyny?

That seems to be about it.

The fun part here is that if the women win, this ruling would also benefit all the men who work in the retail sector of the company too. You'd think it would be a win-win situation as far as it goes.

the back pay would be such a boon to these low wage workers. it seems very exciting.

[Dakini]

The fun part here is that if the women win, this ruling would also benefit all the men who work in the retail sector of the company too. You'd think it would be a win-win situation as far as it goes.

the back pay would be such a boon to these low wage workers. it seems very exciting.

Indeed. It would probably be pretty beneficial to the economy too. Not only would they get to spend their back pay, but they'd end up with a nice raise which which they can buy more stuff and people buying shit is the entire basis of the economy.

[Bojikami]

I think it makes sense that the warehouse workers get payed more than the retail workers regardless of gender.