“
Even in the canteen you can see the difference – people are eating the bare minimum during their lunch breaks. The cheapest fruit, the cheapest bread – it’s rare to even see a ham and cheese sandwich
Iulian Firea, 2Sisters Unite convenor
” ‘Chicken is now a luxury item for 2Sisters workers’
a pint. “Now, the cost of a chicken is double the price of a pint,” he said.
“You’d think we were making luxury items like cars or jewellery – in these cases it’s almost a given that shop floor staff can’t afford the products they make. But when we get pennies more per hour just as the cost of chicken doubles, chicken is now literally a luxury item for 2Sisters workers.”
Iulian said he feels for small businesses, like local family-run chip shops, which simply don’t have the resources to plan for unforeseen events, nor the leverage with suppliers.
“Companies like 2Sisters have that bargaining power with their suppliers to keep costs down,” Iulian explained. “If the chip shop gets its potatoes from Asda, and then decides it’s no longer going to buy from them because their prices are too high, Asda won’t care. Asda will care if it loses one of its biggest suppliers so there’s a huge amount of leverage with the big firms – there’s really no excuse for them to be hiking prices that much.”
*Named changed to protect privacy
Both Sainsbury’s and 2Sisters were identified in Unite’s profiteering report, and John and Iulian agreed it made for dispiriting reading.
The report highlighted that the UK’s biggest supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda – doubled their combined profits to £3.2bn in 2021 compared to 2019. Meanwhile, Boparan Holdings, the parent company of 2Sisters, was identified as one of the top 10 UK food manufacturers by revenue.
Unite also published a fresh analysis in June which found that Sainsbury’s gross profit “before non-underlying items” actually increased last year. It was £2.42bn in 2022/3, 3 per cent higher than £2.36bn in 2021/2.
The analysis also showed that Tesco and Sainsbury’s are paying out a massive £1.2bn to their shareholders this year. Tesco plans to pay £859m in dividends in 2023; Sainsbury’s £319m. These are their highest “common” dividends since 2015. John said it was “uncomfortable” reading about UK supermarkets’ mega profits during a cost of living crisis.
13 uniteLANDWORKER Summer 2023
“Supermarket workers are doing their very best to make their companies
successful, and more importantly, to serve their customers and give
them the best possible experience,” he said. “But when the supermarket industry is reportedly price-gouging customers, then it feels like they’re just undoing all our members’ hard work.”
Iulian said what made him angriest was that while the biggest food companies were profiteering like never before, workers are being blamed for inflation when they fight for better wages.
“It is not higher wages that are responsible for harming the economy; in fact, it’s the exact opposite. When people don’t have money to spend – for food, clothes, bills – you can’t support an economy,” Iulian noted. “Without money in people’s pockets, the economy will shrink and collapse. That’s why we have to keep fighting.”
Mark Thomas
Getty Images
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