Further major investors are pushing J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY) to commit to paying the real living wage to all its staff.
Coutts & Co bank and the Coal Pensions Board have teamed up with other investors to back a resolution at next week's annual shareholder meeting demanding Sainsbury pay a living wage to both its direct employees and contractors as rising energy and food costs put lower-paid workers are under pressure.
The AGM on Thursday next week will be the first time a UK company's board of directors faced a vote to commit to paying the living wage, which is a voluntary rate based on living costs. For 2022 it is set at £9.90 or £11.05 in London.
Responsible investment group ShareAction, which co-ordinated the resolution and has the backing of institutional investors including HSBC, Legal & General Investment Management and Fidelity International, said the vote would be a "litmus test for investors’ social commitments amid the cost-of-living crisis", with the supermarket being asked to show leadership and influence the broader industry.
Following the initial proposal of the resolution, Sainsbury’s offered all colleagues working in a London Borough £11.05 per hour since May, having upped its base rate of pay to £10 per hour nationally in March.
Sainsbury has so far refused to commit to paying the living wage in future years, saying it wants to retain the flexibility to manage its wage bill and said it tries to balance the needs of all stakeholders, including shareholders, with the latter constituting a majority of UK pension funds and private investors.
"We understand that households are counting every penny right now, and that’s why by the end of the year we will have spent over £500mln to keep prices down on the essential items our customers buy the most," the supermarket said as it faced criticism when foreign investors scooped dividend bonanza and its new boss Simon Roberts saw his pay almost triple last year.
Shares were trading 1.80% up at 214.59p in London.