Mandate trade union has hailed new employee proposals put forward by Marks & Spencer as ‘a significant improvement on the original proposals put forward by the company last year’.
Workers voted by a margin of 82% in favour of the new proposals last Friday, with Mandate Assistant General Secretary, Gerry Light saying, “Not only does this agreement improve the situation for our members in terms of the original set of proposals put forward by management, it is also an improvement on the Labour Court recommendation issued in March of this year.”
The dispute between Marks & Spencer workers and the retailer began when the company sought cost cutting measures and put forward proposals which Mandate said would ‘have resulted in a very detrimental effect on the living standards of all workers in the company’.
Mandate members staged a one day national strike at the company last December. They also rejected the Labour Court Recommendation issued in March of this year.
Speaking of the new proposal, Light said, “This once again shows how pragmatic our members can be when facing an unsavoury situation. They were put in a very difficult position, but through their unity they have managed to secure a much more satisfactory offer.”
He added, “Our members have shown they are extremely determined and if any employer or other body makes a demand of them which they feel is unjust, inequitable or unfair, they will resist it in any manner necessary.”
