Sports Direct Working people near death...

[FredClogs]

I wouldn't shop there myself, a mild case of claustrophobia gripped me once caught between some Lonsdale hoodies and a rack of cheap Donnay golf umbrellas and I've never been back.

But would the suggestion that staff are going to work with life threatening illnesses put anyone off shopping there or do we think that this is the price others have to pay in these times of austerity to enable us to get those all important vertically integrated brands we desire...?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34178412

[hman]

Vote with your feet, the employees have choice but don't seem capable of knowing when to quit.

[anonymous-user]

78 calls in 2 years. 3000 employees.
A quick google suggests that this is lower than the national average.
You could argue that working in Sports Direct is actually good for your health, the complete opposite to that suggested by the story...

[Mojooo]

oh come on, people who work at SD stores say its st - you really think its any better at the warehouse where the bulk of staff are agency staff that can be replaced on a whim.

[rxtx]

Jimboka said:

78 calls in 2 years. 3000 employees.

3000 total employees, but the calls were all to one postcode, the distribution centre.

[Murph7355]

Jimboka said:

78 calls in 2 years. 3000 employees.
A quick google suggests that this is lower than the national average.
You could argue that working in Sports Direct is actually good for your health, the complete opposite to that suggested by the story...

Shhhh. No story in that.

Or the bullst reporting in the article itself. Jumping to conclusions rather than proving anything whatsoever.

There are many reasons not to go anywhere near Sports Direct. But that article's just poor.

[otolith]

The report says 3000 on site.

[otolith]

The numbers are meaningless without the demographics of the workforce and the typical level one would expect of that group.

[rxtx]

otolith said:

The report says 3000 on site.

Blimey, fair enough.

[AJS-]

The report says 3,000 agency staff, so presumably more who are permanent?

It also includes a traffic accident and a dog bite, which with the best will in the world can hardly be blamed on "billionaire Mike Ashley" or his Dickensian employment practices. The sickness policy (and 6 "strikes" in 6 months is hardly Mr Bumble territory) is down to the agency supplying them.

There are only two really relevant questions:

1) Are they complying with the regulations and taking sensible safety precautions?
2) Is it significantly worse than other comparable sites?

But who needs that when we've got pictures of a wide eyed attractive young girl concerned for her father, striking workers in fancy dress and the evil billionaire with a hint of a Nazi salute, talking on the phone (sacking people just before Christmas perhaps?) at the football club he bought. All there to support the narrative of an evil billionaire exploiting the poor workers, and risking their lives to fund his largesse.

Silly and predictable class war by the BBC.

[wiggy001]

AJS- said:

...It also includes a traffic accident and a dog bite, which with the best will in the world can hardly be blamed on "billionaire Mike Ashley" or his Dickensian employment practices.

Unless the dogs are being used to keep the workers in check...

[jmorgan]

hman said:

Vote with your feet, the employees have choice but don't seem capable of knowing when to quit.

I do vote with my feet but often wonder how much choice people really have to earn a crust.

[MarshPhantom]

jmorgan said:

hman said:

Vote with your feet, the employees have choice but don't seem capable of knowing when to quit.

I do vote with my feet but often wonder how much choice people really have to earn a crust.

Yes, going from one minimum wage/zero hours contract to another is hardly choice.

[turbobloke]

Murph7355 said:

Jimboka said:

78 calls in 2 years. 3000 employees.
A quick google suggests that this is lower than the national average.
You could argue that working in Sports Direct is actually good for your health, the complete opposite to that suggested by the story...

Shhhh. No story in that.

Or the bullst reporting in the article itself. Jumping to conclusions rather than proving anything whatsoever.

Article said:

It is not clear exactly how many of these calls were for the thousands of agency workers on site.

That's clear enough. It's clear the article author has no idea.

[Ilovejapcrap]

AJS- said:

The report says 3,000 agency staff, so presumably more who are permanent?

It also includes a traffic accident and a dog bite, which with the best will in the world can hardly be blamed on "billionaire Mike Ashley" or his Dickensian employment practices..

Unless the dog works in warehouse ? Hmmmm

[Murph7355]

turbobloke said:

That's clear enough. It's clear the article author has no idea.

It's totally ridiculous isn't it. And that's before you start getting into the perfectly valid comments otolith makes.

As for the wide eyed girl, she even states the family don't blame Sports Direct. Her father went to work feeling like he had flu (decent work ethic perhaps) and had a stroke. People have strokes in all manner of circumstances. If he'd had it at home a few hours later we'd never have heard of him.

Fredclogs - any particular reason for posting it? Newcastle fan? Or just a dislike of wealthy people and so even the remotest, faintest whiff of "exploitation" is enough to get you going...?

[MarshPhantom]

Murph7355 said:

Fredclogs - any particular reason for posting it? Newcastle fan? Or just a dislike of wealthy people?

First rule of PH, never criticize anyone with more money than you.

[wiggy001]

MarshPhantom said:

Yes, going from one minimum wage/zero hours contract to another is hardly choice.

A very quick search suggests there are over 400 job vacancies within 5 miles of Shirebrook. No-one has to stay on a minimum wage job if they really don't want to - the opportunities are there for those that want them.

[Digga]

Apropos of this, I work by Amazon's monster Rugeley warehouse and this morning saw my first "Amazon Christmas bus" of the season... more enthusiastic grist to the mill. They ship people out of Brum during the peak season and never seem short of volunteers.

When all the stink about them doing likewise to SD was out, coincidentally a neighbour who'd had to close-down his IT business in the crunch was working there, with his son too. Neither of them had the slightest complaint about the place. Hard graft yes, but they reckoned fair. TBH though, neither he (since found another decent IT job) nor his son (a student) were necessarily looking at this from the perspective of no light at the end of the tunnel.

[PRTVR]

FredClogs said:

I wouldn't shop there myself, a mild case of claustrophobia gripped me once caught between some Lonsdale hoodies and a rack of cheap Donnay golf umbrellas and I've never been back.

But would the suggestion that staff are going to work with life threatening illnesses put anyone off shopping there or do we think that this is the price others have to pay in these times of austerity to enable us to get those all important vertically integrated brands we desire...?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34178412

From reports a lot of the employees in the warehouse were from abroad, one could argue that the free movement of labour has created this situation, a surplus of cheap labour allows companies to run close to the edge of legality, if there were less people available they would have to give better terms and conditions to keep the staff.