Asda workers in NI to receive a pay rise from July

By Q Radio News

Asda workers in Northern Ireland are to receive a pay increase of 7.9% per hour from July.

Workers will receive £9.66 per hour from April and then £10.10 per hour from July to March of next year.

Having reopened a previously agreed two-year pay deal, the retail trade union Usdaw secured the rise to reflect the financial pressures workers face because of the worsening cost of living crisis.

Asda workers in Northern Ireland are to receive a pay increase of 7.9% per hour from July.https://t.co/x1DTWwYwyI

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Pay negotiations for 2023 will start in October for a new pay rate from 1 April next year.

Usdaw Area Organiser Kieran Smyth says:

“In the course of our ongoing discussions with Asda, we raised the significant pressures our members face because of the cost of living crisis and agreed to renegotiate the pay deal we had agreed earlier this year.

“So we are pleased to have secured a significant increase that will make Asda a top-paying supermarket from July and takes staff beyond the real living wage.

"This new settlement is a significant success for our New Deal for Workers campaign, which at its core has the call for at least £10 per hour.

“It has been a tough time for food retail staff who have worked throughout the pandemic in difficult circumstances and are now struggling with rapidly rising prices, energy and fuel costs.

"Shopworkers provide the essential service of keeping the nation fed and deserve our support, respect and appreciation.

"Most of all they deserve decent pay and this deal is a welcome boost.”