Asda staff to go on 'historic' two week strike over 'toxic' working conditions at the supermarket giant's Gosport superstore

Asda colleagues are set to go on strike from Friday, January 12 to Sunday, January 26, after GMB members voted in favour of industrial action.

The walkout is believed to be the first at any Asda supermarket in the UK.

The dispute centres around 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”.

GMB regional organiser Nicola Nixon said: “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’.

“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.”

Fewer than a quarter of colleagues who work at the store voted for industrial action. This shows the GMB does not have the full backing of all colleagues in Gosport.

The chain’s owners have said that the January dates have yet to be confirmed to them, as are the exact numbers of staff who will be taking part in the strike action.

However, they are confident the store will remain open and disruption will be kept to a minimum.

An Asda spokesperson said: “We have established processes in place for colleagues to raise any concerns and are disappointed that the GMB has chosen this course of action, despite the discussions we have had with them. We will continue to engage with representatives at the Gosport store to resolve their concerns. While any action that has the potential to cause disruption for colleagues and customers is unwelcome, we are confident that we can keep disruption to a minimum.”