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Co-op workers win legal argument in equal pay fight

A legal argument has been won by Co-op shop-floor workers in their equal pay dispute with the retail giant. More than 1,600 mostly female Co-op workers…

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Co-op workers win legal argument in equal pay fight

31 January, 2022 | by Angela Beevers

A legal argument has been won by Co-op shop-floor workers in their equal pay dispute with the retail giant.

More than 1,600 mostly female Co-op workers took action against the Manchester-headquartered business over complaints that they are being paid less than colleagues in the firm’s distribution centres.

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The shop-workers said they should receive pay similar to the mostly male distribution colleagues, who were paid up to £3 more an hour.

The Co-op has now conceded a “comparability concession” in the case, a step towards recognising the different roles are of equal value, reports the PA news agency.

The retailer will now have to show that the roles are not of equal value or that there is a genuine reason for the pay difference which is not based on gender.

A spokesman for the Co-op said: “Our colleagues play an important role in feeding the nation and it’s central to the Co-op’s values that we pay them fairly for the work that they do in supporting communities.

“We believe that we pay our colleagues fairly for the roles that they do, and so will continue to defend these claims.”