Boohoo Warehouse Burnley - The Times

[Paul Waine]

Times is reporting on undercover investigation of working conditions at Boohoo's warehouse in Burnley.

[Bfc]

There was an undercover tv programme covering this at Boohoo a few years ago. I knew the whistleblower, who left the job, when he’d reported Boohoo.

[jrgbfc]

Not surprised really, everything I've heard about it has been negative.

[sanderson370]

im not suprised having known people who have worked there.The trade union usdaw have been outside the factory speaking to staff both starting and finishing work and have been in dialogue with the company but they continue to resist recognising a union for its staff .i hope they return as working conditions wont improve until pressure is put on the company to recognise a trade union its members on site have wanted this to happen for 4 years plus and been resisted by boohoo this is why.

[Gaia]

Journalist called Tom Ball
In Boohoo's warehouse in Burnley, staff refer to themselves as "slaves".

I spent a month working undercover there and by the end felt utterly drained and demoralised. With @billykenber

Before starting work at Boohoo I was given two pieces of advice by the manager who interviewed me for the job: wear thick socks to stop your feet from blistering and don’t wear a watch, because it will only make the time pass slower.
The phrase “we’re not robots, you know” was one that I heard often. It spoke to the lack of dignity that Boohoo showed towards people working at the bottom rung of their company, who — in a town where jobs can be hard to come by — had little choice but to carry on despite it all

[sanderson370]

i hope the usdaw members on site phone the local office at preston or warrington if there are still underlying issues they can visit usdaw website for support to highlight boohoo again.

[CoolClaret]

So utterly tragic.

Support your unions - these lot would have us back working in Victorian Workhouses all day if they could.

I’m absolutely fed up of talentless managers ego-tripping and looking down upon people that work hard every day to make ends meet, that scoff at wage rise requests and think the sun shines out of their own arses.

Long story short but I remember being a disillusioned young lad dropping out of uni (I later returned on a degree apprenticeship through work) but them interim years looking for work whilst having no real tangible qualification (A level maths/physics) in an area such as Burnley was really hard.

I wanted to work full time and tried my hardest to get on and yeah it eventually came but for a year or two it was really hard.

In a business, everyone from the cleaners to the MD (should) add value and deserve the right to be treated with respect.

We’re going backwards in this regard and it makes me sick

[sanderson370]

So utterly tragic.

Support your unions - these lot would have us back working in Victorian Workhouses all day if they could.

I’m absolutely fed up of talentless managers ego-tripping and looking down upon people that work hard every day to make ends meet, that scoff at wage rise requests and think the sun shines out of their own arses.

Long story short but I remember being a disillusioned young lad dropping out of uni (I later returned on a degree apprenticeship through work) but them interim years looking for work whilst having no real tangible qualification (A level maths/physics) in an area such as Burnley was really hard.

I wanted to work full time and tried my hardest to get on and yeah it eventually came but for a year or two it was really hard.

In a business, everyone from the cleaners to the MD (should) add value and deserve the right to be treated with respect.

We’re going backwards in this regard and it makes me sick

unions protect you in the workplace look around now royal mail striking barristers solictors nurses and teachers in schools make your mind up unions protect your rights in your workplace on pay and conditions

[CoolClaret]

unions protect you in the workplace look around now royal mail striking barristers solictors nurses and teachers in schools make your mind up unions protect your rights in your workplace on pay and conditions

You’ve mis understood me

‘These lot’ as in your Boohoos etc, not the Unions themselves..

Sorry for the confusion

[atlantalad]

unions protect you in the workplace look around now royal mail striking barristers solictors nurses and teachers in schools make your mind up unions protect your rights in your workplace on pay and conditions

I detest unions. How do they ‘protect’ you. Who do you mean by ‘you.’ I have nothing but contempt for them which is founded from the action of the flying pickets organised by UCATT in the 1970’s. It’s members were nothing but thugs and vandals.

[Taffy on the wing]

I detest unions. How do they ‘protect’ you. Who do you mean by ‘you.’ I have nothing but contempt for them which is founded from the action of the flying pickets organised by UCATT in the 1970’s. It’s members were nothing but thugs and vandals.

An "i'm alright Jack" post if i've ever seen one.

[bfcmatt]

An "i'm alright Jack" post if i've ever seen one.

My son worked there a couple of summers back when he was home from uni. He went to the toillette twice in one shift so his supervisor called him over and told him he would be working with somebody else the next day to stop him from being lazy, Obviously he told him to shove his job up his arse. Also as a side, on his induction he was the only brit (thats not the issue) the induction was given in the language of the rest of the group with one of them trying to translate in broken English for my son. Sh1t hole

[Socrates]

I detest unions. How do they ‘protect’ you.

In no particular order :-

Weekends

Pensions

Sickness entitlement

The minimum wage

Maternity/paternity rights

[bfcjg]

Totally agree about horrendous working conditions in that place, so obvious why they don't want unions.That said we are all guilty, we want cheap clothes etc, that place is bad but magnify that 100 times over for those poor souls in the manufacturing sector in the sweat shops of Pakistan, Bangladesh, India etc.

[CoolClaret]

Totally agree about horrendous working conditions in that place, so obvious why they don't want unions.That said we are all guilty, we want cheap clothes etc, that place is bad but magnify that 100 times over for those poor souls in the manufacturing sector in the sweat shops of Pakistan, Bangladesh, India etc.

I’ve taken a vastly different approach in terms of items I purchase now.

Pay a bit more for better quality and from stores/brands that have a proper history of worker’s rights et al

Which is about all one can do - well that and voting.

[pushpinpussy]

Why can’t people stop whinging. Get on with your job. If you don’t like it move on. It's all to do with their outlook on life and their personal experiences. You will find that the people complaining are usually failures, jealous, they have had bitter experiences at work, are unhappy and have a poor social life.

[CoolClaret]

Why can’t people stop whinging. Get on with your job. If you don’t like it move on. It's all to do with their outlook on life and their personal experiences. You will find that the people complaining are usually failures, jealous, they have had bitter experiences at work, are unhappy and have a poor social life.

Hard to have a positive outlook on life doing a 6-6 shift for a pittance, whilst **** scared to go for a **** and not interacting with a human all day isn’t it.

Moron

[Lancasterclaret]

Why can’t people stop whinging. Get on with your job. If you don’t like it move on. It's all to do with their outlook on life and their personal experiences. You will find that the people complaining are usually failures, jealous, they have had bitter experiences at work, are unhappy and have a poor social life.

There are some proper weirdos on this site

[Bin Ont Turf]

They have and continue to get away with it because 90% of the workforce are from the EU. An endless supply of new faces.

That place has certainly been good for taxi firms and unscrupulous Landlords.

[Lancasterclaret]

And this thread will collect all the weirdos on here, like flies on ****

[Murger]

And this thread will collect all the weirdos on here, like flies on ****

And here you are.

[ClaretAndJew]

I worked in the customer service department on a short term contract about 7 years ago and it was the most cliquey place I've ever worked. Very toxic environment.

[1882Clarets1882]

And the CBI are demanding the ability to facilitate more of these working conditions.

[CrosspoolClarets]

Fantastic reporting.

Unions are all about grouping people together and collectively looking after each other, with professional help too. That can be done in a place like Boohoo without unions, but it would be blindingly difficult. Yes, unions often abuse that power, but it doesn’t make them less vital to many people.

Hopefully we can all agree that treating (in the large part) fellow Clarets in this way is sickening and has to be stopped. There really isn’t any need for dissent on the topic.

[Inchy]

I detest unions. How do they ‘protect’ you. Who do you mean by ‘you.’ I have nothing but contempt for them which is founded from the action of the flying pickets organised by UCATT in the 1970’s. It’s members were nothing but thugs and vandals.

Very strange outlook.


It’s a bit like detesting then Tories for some policy they implemented in the 70s. Just a bit weird isn’t it

[Bosscat]

Why can’t people stop whinging. Get on with your job. If you don’t like it move on. It's all to do with their outlook on life and their personal experiences. You will find that the people complaining are usually failures, jealous, they have had bitter experiences at work, are unhappy and have a poor social life.

Did Mummy type that for you

[Zlatan]

Very strange outlook.


It’s a bit like detesting then Tories for some policy they implemented in the 70s. Just a bit weird isn’t it

indeed, I just detest the Tories. Though I must admit it all began when Maggie took my milk away

[ClaretInLeeds]

And here you are.

The irony!

[Lancasterclaret]

And here you are.

Look at who is liking your post as well, it kinda backs up my post far better than anything esle

Thanks for that!

[Chobulous]

Why can’t people stop whinging. Get on with your job. If you don’t like it move on. It's all to do with their outlook on life and their personal experiences. You will find that the people complaining are usually failures, jealous, they have had bitter experiences at work, are unhappy and have a poor social life.

Pushpinpussy / DevilsAdvocate a Janus character if there ever was one. Why do people engage with this character.

[Boss Hogg]

Not a fan of unions generally but that place sounds like a complete sh*t heap to work at.

[Murger]

Look at who is liking your post as well, it kinda backs up my post far better than anything esle

Thanks for that!

Do you ever get fed up of thinking you’re right all the time?

[Lancasterclaret]

Being serious for a sec

A company I worked for back in the day has real issues with RMT that took a long time to sort, and it did colour my view of unions for a long while, but without them, employers will just take the p**s as far as they can

Most of the time, the balance between employer power and union power is about right, but it doesn't seem that way at the moment

[Lancasterclaret]

Do you ever get fed up of thinking you’re right all the time?

Do you ever get fed up with coming on here and looking like a pillock all the time?

No?

Tell me when I've been wrong recently mate, cos I'm all ears

[Lancasterclaret]

Do you ever get fed up with coming on here and looking like a pillock all the time?

No?

Tell me when I've been wrong recently mate, cos I'm all ears

Disregard that btw!

Typed in haste and I don't really mean stuff like that

Sorry Murger

[Nori1958]

Do you ever get fed up with coming on here and looking like a pillock all the time?

No?

Tell me when I've been wrong recently mate, cos I'm all ears

There was a quote on TV recently, that when you call someone "mate" it's because you're about to say something derogatory about them........

[Stayingup]

There have been issues in Leicester at the making up factories in the past. there was an investigation. Blame the Tories of course - nice easy target. I can tell you now that one Labour MP in Leicester shadow cabinet minister refused to help a very good Textile Comonay in Leicester to win a PPE contract because - and get this - 'It might the help the Tories'. As a matter if fact the PPE story was a scandal and it was Tories and wCivil Servants fault. Incidentally that company is now closing its doors.

[Hapag Lloyd]

Disregard that btw!

Typed in haste and I don't really mean stuff like that

Sorry Murger

Well done Lancaster
It’s refreshing to see someone accept that they can sometimes be wrong, mate.

[pushpinpussy]

If you don’t like what you do for whatever reason, there are plenty of other jobs. Just stop whinging and get on with it. I used to get called out to police stations, sometimes at 3 am in the morning to deal with heroin addicts who were withdrawing, volatile, had mental health issues and who hadn’t washed for a fortnight. They are appalling conditions for anyone to deal with and work in. But I, and my peers i should say, got on with it and never once whinged. People today do not know they are born.

[Murger]

Disregard that btw!

Typed in haste and I don't really mean stuff like that

Sorry Murger

Offended I am not. I’ve been called worse than a pillock plenty of times.

[fidelcastro]

If you don’t like what you do for whatever reason, there are plenty of other jobs. Just stop whinging and get on with it. I used to get called out to police stations, sometimes at 3 am in the morning to deal with heroin addicts who were withdrawing, volatile, had mental health issues and who hadn’t washed for a fortnight. They are appalling conditions for anyone to deal with and work in. But I, and my peers i should say, got on with it and never once whinged. People today do not know they are born.

Can anyone else smell something?

[houseboy]

Just a thought but for all those who think unions are bad it should be pointed out that any rights workers have now were won by unions. They were not given freely by employers. They never would have been. Criticising unions is hypocrisy in the extreme because the people doing the criticising most probably will have a job that is decent with decent pay and conditions. These conditions and reasonable rates of pay exist because of unions. Employers will give very little freely and yet without the very people they treat badly they themselves would have nothing. Employment is a two way street but in the past employers failed to realise or just chose to ignore it.

[atlantalad]

An "i'm alright Jack" post if i've ever seen one.

Jack, I am putting my own perception of unions which happen to counter those of the previous posts. I am allowed to have my own view of unions -I can think for myself thanks.

[CoolClaret]

If you don’t like what you do for whatever reason, there are plenty of other jobs. Just stop whinging and get on with it. I used to get called out to police stations, sometimes at 3 am in the morning to deal with heroin addicts who were withdrawing, volatile, had mental health issues and who hadn’t washed for a fortnight. They are appalling conditions for anyone to deal with and work in. But I, and my peers i should say, got on with it and never once whinged. People today do not know they are born.

I bet you weren’t doing that for minimum wage though were you?

Should we just not accept any sort of employment standards? Why bother eh, deregulate anything and everything.

It’s a race to the bottom mate, companies would be giving workers one break a day, no holidays, no sick pay, nothing.

Change your POV - imagine you’re born into a completely broken home in a rundown/poor part of Burnley.
Never get encouraged and supported at home or at school and end up grafting here in a town where there is limited employment opportunities- even for people with some qualifications.

How do you suppose they miraculously find a better job?

We’re not asking for these sort of jobs to pay £15 an hour or whatever, we’re asking for proper employment rights and to be treated with empathy & respect - not sneering and contempt

[tiger76]

Not a fan of unions generally but that place sounds like a complete sh*t heap to work at.

Ideally unions wouldn't be necessary, however given some pf the dubious employers in this country it's a good thing people have the option of joining a union.

The main issue with Boohoo seems to be that they don't wish their employees to be part of a union, now I wonder why that would be the case.

Absolutely bonkers that in 2022 workers can still be treated like cattle especially in a supposedly progressive 1st world country.

Easy for folks to say well get another job if you don't like the conditions, but in a place such as Burnley jobs aren't readily available I'd imagine.

[Bosscat]

I bet you weren’t doing that for minimum wage though were you?

Should we just not accept any sort of employment standards? Why bother eh, deregulate anything and everything.

It’s a race to the bottom mate, companies would be giving workers one break a day, no holidays, no sick pay, nothing.

Change your POV - imagine you’re born into a completely broken home in a rundown/poor part of Burnley.
Never get encouraged and supported at home or at school and end up grafting here in a town where there is limited employment opportunities- even for people with some qualifications.

How do you suppose they miraculously find a better job?

We’re not asking for these sort of jobs to pay £15 an hour or whatever, we’re asking for proper employment rights and to be treated with empathy & respect - not sneering and contempt

[4midable]

Few heads i kno work there. They love it

[Stayingup]

20% of eligible UK workforce not working. Plenty of jobs out there. However cheap overseas labour has meant many companies mot investing in apprenticeship schemes and training.

[SammyBoy]

I’m absolutely fed up of talentless managers ego-tripping and looking down upon people that work hard every day to make ends meet, that scoff at wage rise requests and think the sun shines out of their own arses.

This is so true, I worked at a supermarket part-time whilst I finished Uni and it's like being back at school.

People get promoted from shelf stacker to the guy who supervises the shelf stackers and act like they've made it, I think the difference at the time equated to an extra £1 an hour. Not sure why but these low paid jobs seem to create pretty toxic environments from my experience.

[Stayingup]

Ideally unions wouldn't be necessary, however given some pf the dubious employers in this country it's a good thing people have the option of joining a union.

The main issue with Boohoo seems to be that they don't wish their employees to be part of a union, now I wonder why that would be the case.

Absolutely bonkers that in 2022 workers can still be treated like cattle especially in a supposedly progressive 1st world country.

Easy for folks to say well get another job if you don't like the conditions, but in a place such as Burnley jobs aren't readily available I'd imagine.

Jobs are available. See below.

The issue for Boohoo and Misguided ( mow owned by Mike Ashley) is that fast fashion sales have dropped off the edge - thats even after employing low paid workers.
There are warehouses not far from here where there are unsold and in cases unpaid for stacks of finished textile goods.