Gosport supermarket workers vote for 'historic strike'
Asda faces disruption at its Gosport superstore after GMB members voted for industrial action
The walkout, from Friday 12 January 2024, will be the first at any Asda supermarket in the UK.
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 is at present set to run until Sunday 26 January, with further days possible.
Nicola Nixon, GMB Regional Organiser 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.”
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.”