A merry band of protestors dressed as Robin Hood outside a Lanarkshire supermarket to slam a contractor for its workers' pay.
The target-driven bunch hit the bullseye with their point of highlighting how they feel Arrow XL is "effectively taking from its poorly paid workers to pay rich directors".
They gathered at the Aldi store on Airdrie's Manse Place yesterday afternoon and will return there today for a second protest.
Although Arrow XL has revealed it is no longer affiliated with Aldi, it has been in the past and the Lanarkshire supermarket is based in the same town as Arrow XL's depot in Chapelhall.
More than 350 members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, have been taking industrial action since October, with the workers taking all-out continuous strike action from December 9.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham told Lanarkshire Live : “Arrow XL is guilty of acting as Robin Hood in reverse; it is taking money from its poorly paid workers to give to rich directors.
“Arrow XL needs to stop mistreating its workers and make a fair pay offer. Until Arrow XL treats its workers fairly, Unite will continue to expose its practices at every opportunity.”
Arrow XL is part of the Logistics Group Holdings Ltd, which is owned by Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay Family Settlements.
Unite has revealed Arrow XL has only been prepared to offer workers a five per cent pay increase, which it has called "a considerable real terms pay cut".
The union's national officer Adrian Jones said: “The strike has caused considerable disruption to Arrow XL’s clients, but this dispute has been entirely self-inflicted.
“Unite has given Arrow XL numerous opportunities to make a fair pay offer and it has stubbornly refused to do the right thing by its workers.”
An Arrow XL spokesperson said: "“We are unsure as to why Unite is demonstrating at Aldi who is not currently a customer of ArrowXL.
"We have already awarded all colleagues the increase that was offered during the negotiations that equates to an average of 8.25 per cent (range of five per cent to 35.6 per cent) and made enhancements to sick, maternity, paternity and jury service pay as we are mindful of the cost of living challenges our people are facing.
"The pay award has already been backdated to July 1, 2022, and follows a series of increasing awards over the last few years of 3.5 per cent in 2021 and 2.8 per cent in 2020. Pay is due to be reviewed again this month.
"We are extremely disappointed to be in this situation as we believe our pay offer to be fair, particularly in the light of our significantly increased operating costs and the need to keep home delivery charges reasonable for consumers.
"We would like to express our utmost thanks and appreciation to all colleagues who continue to attend work as normal; we are very grateful for their ongoing support.”
An Aldi spokesman confirmed to Lanarkshire Live that although it has previously worked with Arrow XL, it no longer has any link with the contractor.
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