Memorandum by J. Sainsbury plc
Our use of immigrant labour in retail and distribution
areas has grown significantly in the last two years, and indications
are that this growth will continue.
We have been able to utilise immigrant labour
to improve our business performance by filling pressing gaps in
both skilled and unskilled areas.
We look for the same characteristics in a migrant
worker to those of a domestic one, and do not set out specifically
to recruit them. We seek the highest calibre recruit for each
vacancy from the local pool of labour.
The main factors that influence migrant workers
into joining Sainsbury's involve the wage differentials between
the UK and their homeland, although a range of other factors play
a part. Many workers only join on a short term/temporary basis,
whereas a significant number intend to remain long-term.
We have found that migrants from European Union
countries tend to stay for shorter periods to earn sufficient
money to set themselves up back in their homeland.
In some areas, we have definitely seen a positive
shift in culture where migrant workers have been introduced, which
has led to a more diverse workforce fostering a more engaged group
of workers.
Where we have engaged skilled workers (HGV drivers
from Poland, for example), we have had to be creative in arranging
their work patterns to allow them to return to their homeland
regularly. This has encouraged us to consider the use of flexibility
among the whole workforce.
We have found migrant workers to have a very
satisfactory work ethic, in many cases superior to domestic workers.
We believe that this results from their differing motivations,
they want to learn English, or send money home to their families.
They tend to be more willing to work flexibly, and be satisfied
with their duties, terms and conditions and productivity requirements.
In the long term, this could have a positive effect on their domestic
colleagues.
Language barriers are a disadvantage, and migrants
understanding of health and safety requirements are naturally
a major concern. Here, again, we have had to take a very flexible
approach by adapting our communications and signage. Placing migrant
workers among English-speaking colleagues and using fellow workers
as interpreters has proven useful.
There has been a little limited Trade Union
resistance locally to the use of migrant labour, on the basis
of "local" jobs being filled by migrant workers.
We anticipate that the use of migrant workers
in the future will increase within Sainsbury's, as the UK population
declines, and it will also help us, in part, to address the problem
of an ageing population.
We do find that it appears that there are gaps
in the provision of support services to migrant workers, or barriers
to them accessing the services. Generally, better provision needs
to be made for migrant workers in terms of advice on housing,
banking, language and cross-cultural awareness.
30 September 2007
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