Unite General Secretary calls on Morrisons chief executive to intervene and end dispute over ‘paltry’ pay deal

The head of Unite has written to David Potts, the chief executive of Morrisons supermarket chain, calling on him to fund “a fair pay increase” for workers in Gibraltar taking strike action to defend their living standards.

Workers in Morrisons in Gibraltar have been on strike since January 30 after rejecting a “paltry” 2.4% pay increase.

In announcing the letter to Mr Potts, Unite highlighted that the retailer’s underlying profits for last year were “a massive” £828m.

The 2.4% increase – the equivalent of 20p an hour – is the same as implemented by Morrisons in the UK.

But Unite members have pointed out that workers in Gibraltar earn around £2 per hour less than their counterparts in the UK for undertaking the same job.

“The imposition of this pay deal means that the lowest paid worker at Morrisons Gibraltar will be paid £8.47 per hour, just above the Gibraltar minimum wage,” Unite said in a statement issued by its central office in the UK.

In the letter to Mr Potts, Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham called on him to demand that Morrisons management in Gibraltar return to the negotiating table.

“Morrisons is a hugely wealthy retailer,” Ms Graham said in the statement.

“Last year the supermarket raked in £828 million in profits.”

“There is no excuse for underpaying workers in Gibraltar.”

“David Potts must intervene to end this dispute.”

“The strike is solid, it’s receiving strong support in Gibraltar and Unite is firmly behind the workers.”

“Unless local management get back to the negotiating table the dispute will escalate.”