JD Sports has joined M&S and Next as the latest high street brand to have shareholders vote on a move to make the company reveal how many workers are on low pay – a ploy by campaigners to try and force the companies into paying more.
Rather than relying on moral arguments, activists at ShareAction have been trying to convince stock owners that poor pay can harm the company’s overall interests.
Shareholders rejected the motions – which would have forced the company to reveal how many staff were not being paid a real Living Wage – but those behind the campaign say it is a “warning shot”, and shows a growing appetite for transparency among investors.
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“A business model built on low wages is a risk for the vitality and growth of our UK economy as well as putting a strain on workers and families struggling to make ends meet,” said Jeanne Martin, ShareAction’s co-director of corporate engagement, saying that the vote was “a warning shot to JD Sports that low pay standards are no longer acceptable to many investors”.
There is solid reason behind this, said Joseph Evans of the IPPR think tank: “It’s true that low pay harms the economy and poses a long-term threat to shareholders’ interests.”