{"id":13198,"date":"2017-09-06T15:32:53","date_gmt":"2017-09-06T14:32:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=13198"},"modified":"2017-09-08T12:34:07","modified_gmt":"2017-09-08T11:34:07","slug":"sports-direct-whats-changed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=13198","title":{"rendered":"Sports Direct: What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s changed?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Unite Community North Derbyshire branch chair, Val Graham, has attended Sports Direct\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s AGM for the last three years.<\/p>\n

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Speaking after the shareholder meeting, she said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen Unite representatives first attended the AGM two years ago and began asking questions about firm\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s work practices we received unsatisfactory answers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bLast year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s AGM was an improvement because of Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s campaign and the media interest that generated. There were promises made to improve things during that meeting, which was very well attended. Despite the pledges we still had major concerns over precarious work conditions.<\/p>\n

\n

\"val<\/p>\n

Val Graham<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bNow at this year’s AGM we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re back to the way things were before, with vague, non-committal answers over the company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s use of zero hour contracts and agency workers.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Graham said Sports Direct chairman Keith Hellawell spent the meeting hiding behind the workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 board representative, Alex Balacki, who was installed in April and does not speak to employees at the firm\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Shirebrook warehouse.
\nRevolt <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Hellawell is facing a shareholder revolt over corporate governance failings and will discover if he has to step down later today, after an AGM vote on his future is counted. Graham said,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHellawell was playing the workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rep \u00e2\u20ac\u201c who said that employees are overwhelmingly happy with their terms and conditions \u00e2\u20ac\u201c off against Unite and the workers who speak to us.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSports Direct said he was democratically elected but we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how he was chosen, how he communicates with the workforce or whether they can tell him the truth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe truth is that without job security Sports Direct staff are not free to speak their minds. They need proper union representation so they can be heard without risk.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Graham said one positive note from the meeting was that Sports Direct have agreed to meet with Unite. However, she did not expect much to come from the meeting. She said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI predict they will end up arguing the same things they did today: that zero hours and temporary working are legal and that the workforce prefers them. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not what Unite is hearing from workers at the firm.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165
\nCampaign <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Unite regional secretary for the East Midlands, Annmarie Kilcline, said the union\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s campaign against Sports Direct\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s work practices would intensify.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t finish until the wrongs of Sports Direct have been rectified: zero hour contracts, precarious work and the mistreatment of staff,” Kilcline said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe gave them a chance to put changes in places after last year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s AGM and the promises they made have been broken. Nothing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s changed, so the foot is not coming off the gas now. We will pursue Sports Direct until the workforce is organised and they are treated in a way that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fit for the 21st Century.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite member Tom Kirkhan volunteers on a Unite sponsored initiative to teach foreign-born Sports Direct employees English. After 18 months working with firm\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s staff, Tom also said there was very little evidence that things have changed at the warehouse.
\nHe said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still the same problems. People can’t get regular shift patterns, they have problems organising leave, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s issues with the general facilities and toilet breaks. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a general feeling of insecurity \u00e2\u20ac\u201c people don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what to expect. I know people who have worked there eight years and are still on a zero-hour contract \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they could be laid off tomorrow.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Check out UNITElive for updates on Sports Direct<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unite Community North Derbyshire branch chair, Val Graham, has attended Sports Direct\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s AGM for the last three years.   Speaking after the shareholder meeting, she said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen Unite representatives first attended the AGM two years ago and began asking questions about firm\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s work practices we received unsatisfactory answers.   \u00e2\u20ac\u015bLast year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s AGM was an improvement […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13190,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[388,251],"wps_subtitle":"UNITElive speaks to Unite members outside AGM","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13198"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13198"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13257,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13198\/revisions\/13257"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}