Sainsbury’s living wage voted down

SAINSBURY’S shareholders have rejected a call for the business to become an accredited living wage employer after its chairman told them it would reduce the company’s flexibility.

Of those who voted, more than 83pc of shareholders opposed the resolution and nearly 17pc voted in favour.

Martin Scicluna said: ‘We are the leader in the supermarket world in paying the living wage right now. We’ve got an amazing track record of being a responsible business.

‘We don’t want to go the full length of being accredited. We feel that does not give us the flexibility when we’re trying to balance the needs of all the stakeholders.’

Despite the result, Rachel Hargreaves, campaign manager at charity ShareAction, said the vote ‘sent a powerful message from shareholders that Sainsbury’s should make a Living Wage commitment to all of its workers’.