News
Sainsbury’s give staff second pay rise and free food to help with cost of living
The supermarket is also planning to increase in store shopping discounts before Christmas
Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has revealed it will roll out a £25 million package this autumn to help ensure its lowest-paid workers can afford to eat and pay their bills this winter.
From the beginning of October, 127,000 workers will see their hourly pay rise by 25p to £10.25, whilst in London the rate of pay will increase from £11.05 to £11.30.
It is the second pay rise staff will have received from the company in a year, following on from a 5% increase this spring.
As well as increasing staff pay, the company has also announced it will see store workers given free food during their shifts, with £5m set aside to provide toast, soup and porridge in staff rooms.
Colleagues will also see theirin-store discounts raised from 10% at Sainsbury’s and partner store Argo’s, to 15% and 20% come Christmas time.
Between the move to better support staff, and a two-year plan to try and keep prices low for consumers, the company has made the decision for profits to take a hit.
Simon Roberts, Chief Executive of Sainsbury’s, said: “Every day I am hearing from colleagues who are really feeling the pressures of the rising cost of living,
“That’s why we are doing everything we can to help our colleagues as they face rising bills and living costs this autumn. This is the first time we have given two pay rises in the same year.”
“We had a debate over whether we should leave this until next year or bring forward some of this now, given the challenges of the autumn and winter ahead,
““We have 127,000 people that get up every day, often in the middle of the night, to get our stores and operations ready for customers. We need to support them as we go into this winter period. Therefore we made the choice to bring forward this pay increase to now.”
Sainsbury’s is not the only company choosing to sacrifice profit in order to ensure its staff can afford to eat and heat their homes this winter.
Employee-owned company John Lewis has revealed this morning that it is “forgoing profit” to help its partners and employees through the winter.
Dame Sharon White, the partnership’s chairman, said: “No one could have predicted the scale of the cost-of-living crisis that has materialised, with energy prices and inflation rising ahead of anyone’s expectations.
“As a business, we have faced unprecedented cost inflation across grocery and general merchandise.”
Read more: Emmerdale star Adam Thomas forced to close Gatley restaurant
She added: “We are responding to the cost of living crisis by supporting those who need it and by stepping up our efficiency programme.
“We are forgoing profit by making choices based on the sort of business we are, led by our Purpose – Working In Partnership For A Happier World – by helping our Partners, customers, communities and suppliers.”
Meanwhile, Parliament has been suspended until Wednesday 21 September, the day before a further suspension is due to allow party conferences to take place.
Read more: Butcher trolling King Charles’ ‘sausage fingers’ says he’s “definitely going to hell”
The official government petitions website has also been frozen “until further notice” preventing people from sigining existing campaigns or creating new petitions for consideration in the House of Commons.
Feature image – Sainsbury’s
News
Worsley man, 81, jailed after ‘terrifying’ attempted robbery of elderly woman’s home
Emily Sergeant
An 81-year-old man has been sentenced to prison after attempting to rob an elderly woman’s home in broad daylight earlier this year.
Edwin Morrison, of Manchester Road in Worsley, was sentenced yesterday (15 April) at Manchester Crown Court after pleading guilty to attempted robbery at an earlier hearing.
The incident in question occurred at around 11am on Tuesday 27 January, when Morrison knocked on the door of the 95-year-old woman’s home and told her he wanted to discuss the new bin collection date.
Without invitation, Morrison then stepped inside under the guise of ‘discussing things further’, and once inside the property, he proceeded to put his hands on the woman’s throat in an attempt to strangle her while repeatedly asking for her money and purse, before zip-tying her hands together, and grabbing and squeezing her throat further.
Thankfully, the victim’s hairdresser arrived at the property and entered the house, where she came across the scene and was alerted to call the police.
Morrison then left the property, taking the keys and locking the front door behind him.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) immediately launched an investigation once they were called, with specialist officers attending the scene and completing forensic analysis of the home and room, before going on to conduct ‘comprehensive’ CCTV and ANPR enquiries which led them to Morrison’s address, where he was arrested.
When Morrison was arrested and taken into custody for questioning, he provided no comment answers about the offence, and was later charged with his offence.
Morrison was this week sentenced to seven years in prison.
Speaking following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Paul Davies, from GMP’s Salford district, said: “When this incident first came in, we were all shocked by the very nature of it, and we immediately launched a full investigation into the circumstances.
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“It was a terrifying ordeal for the victim and Morrison’s actions of targeting a woman in her own home were shocking.
“Her resilience and strength following this vile crime have been truly inspirational and I am glad that the investigative team have been able to get her the justice she deserves.”
Featured Image – GMP
News
Bernardo Silva has confirmed he is leaving Manchester City at the end of the season
Danny Jones
After a couple of years of will he, won’t he, Manchester City star Bernardo Silva has now revealed he will be leaving at the end of the season.
While most supporters saw it coming from a mile off, it’s still a huge loss for the Blues.
Announcing his imminent departure on social media this Thursday, 16 April, the Man City midfielder will call it a day at the Etihad Stadium after the best part of the decade.
More importantly, he’s lifted virtually everything there is to win at a club level after signing from Monaco at the age of 22, and has been an instrumental part of the squad ever since he arrived.
Writing a lengthy and emotional post on his Instagram, 31-year-old Silva wrote: Cityzens, When I arrived 9 years ago, I was following a dream of a little boy, wanting to succeed in life, wanting to achieve great things.
“This city and this club gave me much more than that, much more than I ever hoped for. What we won and achieved together is a legacy that will forever be cherished in my heart. ‘The Centurions’, the domestic quadruple, the Treble, the ‘Four In A Row’ and much more… It wasn’t that bad
“In a few months, it’s time to say goodbye to the city where not only [did] we win so much as a football club, but also where I started my marriage and my family. From the bottom of my heart, Ines and Carlota, thank you!
“To the fans, your unconditional support throughout the years is something that I will never forget. My main goal as a player was to always play with passion so you guys could feel proud and well represented on the pitch. I hope you felt that every single game.
“I arrived as a Man City player, I leave as one more of you, a Man City supporter for life. Keep supporting this young team, and I’m pretty sure they will bring you a lot of new, fantastic memories in the future.
After more than four and a half centuries’ worth of appearances already, and a few more to come before the end of the 2025/26 campaign, he will no doubt go down as one of the all-time greats – and not just for City, but arguably the Premier League in general.
With 76 goals and 77 assists to his name, not to mention 19 trophies while wearing the shirt,
He signed off by adding: “To the club, Pep, the staff and all my teammates these 9 years, thank you for all the memories and for letting me be a part of this journey for so long.
“The atmosphere we created every day in the training ground made me feel at home and a part of a big family. Let’s enjoy together these last weeks and fight for what this season still brings us. Love you all,
Bernardo.”
As for Guardiola and co, they have already teased plans to give the Portuguese playmaker a proper send-off and have promised to work with the fans to deliver “a fitting tribute and farewell to a wonderful servant of Manchester City Football Club at the end of the season.”
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Featured Images — Aleksandr Veprev (via Wikimedia Commons)
Georgina Pellant -
15th September 2022 
