Deborah Orr’s otherwise commendable article (The big supermarkets sowed the seeds of their own decline, 4 October) makes no mention of the employment practices of the major supermarkets, and in particular their failure to pay the living wage to employees. While Waitrose prides itself on its ethical trading, this does not appear to extend to paying the living wage to its staff. Waitrose staff are eligible for a bonus payment and overtime which annually may amount to the living wage but is not synonymous with receiving the hourly living wage rate, and the cleaners at the John Lewis group, who are contracted out (and therefore not eligible for the bonus) have been in long-term dispute with the company over this. Nearly 120,000 people have petitioned John Lewis to pay the living wage to the cleaners at change.org.
Jane Lambert
London
