7:20am Tuesday 31st August 2010
By Simon Carr
WORKERS at a giant cash-and-carry wholesaler claim they are being bullied into changing their hours in a huge shift shake-up.
Staff at Makro’s Segensworth store complain bosses are introducing new contracts forcing them to work early in the morning, late at night and weekends.
The Daily Echo understands the company wants to change working hours in line with customer demands.
It means staff will have to commit to doing various sixhour shifts to ensure the store is fully manned from 5am to 10pm.
Rotas will be set four weeks in advance and employees with family responsibilities or personal commitments at these times will have to arrange to swap shifts with other staff.
However, some staff say they are being pushed out and they will be forced to look for other jobs.
One worker, who did not want to be named, said: “A great number of staff chose to work part-time to fit hours in around our children but now we are being told we have to make ourselves available at the company’s request.”
“Makro is the most uncaring, family-unfriendly employer I have ever had.
What happened to work/life balance?”
Another worker said: “This is utterly immoral. It is a real slap in the face for people who have been working here years and are now worried they will be thrown on the scrap heap.”
The changes will be made across the firm’s 30 stores, which turn over around £1 billion in sales.
They come as cash-andcarry rival Costco has just announced it plans to open a Southampton wholesale warehouse on part of the BAT site in Millbrook.
A Makro spokesman said changes had been agreed with union leaders to ensure the business remains viable and better serves customers.
She said: “Makro has been working to ensure it has a fit for purpose structure to help the business move forward.
“This has included consultation with front-of-house staff about the need for greater flexibility over hours worked, to reflect the needs of our customers.
“We have also committed to providing staff with a rota at least four weeks in advance so they can swap shifts where necessary to suit their personal circumstances or make necessary alternative arrangements – this is a formal process that offers greater flexibility to our teams.”
The changes come after Makro discovered most customers were no longer shopping between 9am and 5pm but coming in at other times when staffing levels were low which they claim was harming sales and customer service.
Irene Radigan, national officer for the Usdaw union, said: “Having to adapt to new flexible working patterns is obviously going to be difficult for many of our members, but the majority of them do accept that the changes are necessary to ensure the future success of the company.”
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