With regard to Tesco (I understand) the salaries they pay are so low that employees qualify for state benefits.
In other word, Tescos keeps the profits and we (the UK) pay the difference between their salaries and a living wage.
Sep 9, 2026, 10:50 AM@MarkHoltom In the USA Walmart does the same thing.
@MarkHoltom
Corporate welfare disguised as social welfare.
@MarkHoltom Tesco does pay better than the NHS, though, to the point nurses are quitting and going to work there instead:
https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/uk-news/nhs-pay-tesco-staff-quit-b2223722.html
Sep 9, 2026, 1:01 PM@fazalmajid @MarkHoltom when I worked in retail as a teenager, Tesco were one of the better paying employers! Maybe this has changed over the years, but I suspect another issue for both NHS and retail workers is the trend to run everything as lean as possible and a lack of guaranteed work other than the minimum hours to comply with minimum wage legislation - supermarkets are likely offering more potential work hours, especially with technology that can allocate shifts at very short notice..
@vfrmedia @MarkHoltom Costco figured out that paying its employees a decent wage ensures loyalty, reduces turnover and makes for more competent workers and better service.
Back when I was in San Francisco, I signed up for Costco in 2002 because they were one of the few places that could print photos from digital originals on their Fuji Frontier digital minilabs, and of course much cheaper than service bureaus. When I left in 2019, the team manager was the same one as in 2002. They were well-known for the consistency of their results, because they were rigorous about maintenance of the equipment and calibrating it regularly.
You don't get that attention to detail from people who are churning every 6 months because Wal-Mart pays them starvation wages.
@MarkHoltom This happens in the US too, and they have the nerve to say that certain jobs were never meant to support people.
Sep 9, 2026, 6:15 PM@MarkHoltom if this were true, I wonder where the data to support it would be collected? I understood that Tesco staff have union representation, and they pay above the legal hourly minimum.
Sep 9, 2026, 6:16 PM
Sep 10, 2026, 4:29 AM@MarkHoltom@mastodonapp.uk and the companies.