Shop workers union Usdaw has secured a 7.9% increase for Asda staff in Northern Ireland after reopening pay negotiations.

The deal, secured as part of Usdaw’s New Deal for Workers Campaign, brings pay up to £10.10 per hour from July. The improved settlement reflects the financial pressures workers face because of the worsening cost of living crisis.

Kieran Smyth, Usdaw Area Organiser said: 

“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.

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 Usdaw’s New Deal for Workers campaign, which at its core has the call for at least £10 per hour.

“It’s 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.”

Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK’s fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades.

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