Asda staff at Gosport store vote for ‘historic’ strike

Members of the trade union GMB at Asda’s Gosport superstore have on Friday voted for industrial action.

The walkout will be the first at any Asda supermarket in the UK, the union claimed.

The dispute centres around the members’ treatment at the hands of management, which includes wage errors and health and safety concerns, contributing to a work culture GMB is describing as ‘toxic’.

The strike action will commence on 12 January 2024 and is at present set to run until 26 January, with further days possible.

“To my knowledge, no Asda store has been balloted for strike action before, so this is historic for these members who have been brave enough to stand up and say ‘enough is enough’,” Nicola Nixon, GMB regional organizer, said.

“The strike action is a cry for help from these hard-working colleagues, who help deliver Christmas for families all across the surrounding area.

“Asda management still have time to stop this strike from happening – if they don’t want the store operations to grind to a halt in January, they need to meet us and actually negotiate with us, unlike the five previous times we have met for pointless and unproductive talks.”

Earlier this week, Asda co-owner Mohsin Issa has refuted the allegation by GMB about the sweating of the assets and declining headcount in stores. He said the staff numbers increased from 140,000 to 151,000 since the takeover.

“Our conviction is that we are here for the long haul. We want to retain this business. It is about growth and how we grow the business. We have added convenience to it. We have increased colleague pay. We are not about sweating assets at all,” he told MPs on Tuesday during an evidence session of the business and trade select committee of the House of Commons.