As strike threat deepens, what could spreading industrial action mean for Asda?

The first-ever strike at an Asda store took place as a 48-hour walkout beginning on February 9 in Gosport, Hampshire, after being postponed twice to allow for more talks between supermarket bosses and the union.

Three other stores in Wisbech, Hampshire, and Brighton Hollingbury and Brighton Marina, both in East Sussex, are voting on whether to go ahead with strike action as workers complain of issues such as poor health and safety.

GMB Union claims the grocer’s owners “continue the asset stripping of Asda at pace” and said workers are dealing with “worsening health and safety standards, while Mohsin Issa spends millions on mansions and private jets”.

Asda has denied allegations made by the union over cost-cutting and poor health and safety standards. The retailer says it has requested details from the GMB regarding these issues and is “yet to receive them”.

While Asda has staunchly rejected the claims, talk of further strike action is already spreading with GMB indicating that the problems could worsen for the supermarket in the future.

Growing concerns

At the time of the Gosport strike, the union said the dispute centred around “health and safety concerns” that contributed to a “toxic” work culture. 

Similar issues have since been raised by GMB members at the three Asda stores in Wisbech and Brighton, with staff in each of these stores advancing motions to vote on strike action.

GMB has cited “cut(s) in hours, poor health and safety, inadequate training, lack of collective bargaining and failure to resolve equal pay” as the reasons why members are balloting for potential industrial action.

GMB London regional officer Keith Dixon says the stores currently balloting were spurred on by the strike action at Gosport.

He says: “Gosport has triggered a spark in many of the members to look at that example and say ‘Hang on a minute, we’re just as fed up as they are, we need to do something about it,’ which is when they come to us for help.”

Dixon claims the union has seen an “increase” in health and safety issues across Asda stores in the past few years, including blocked fire exits and pallets of falling stock, which it says “injured a colleague”.

“This is because of cost-cutting, cutting corners and not having enough training for the colleagues. I am sure Asda can improve these issues. That is something that can be easily achieved,” he says.

A source close to Asda has refuted claims of a rise in health and safety issues.

An Asda spokesperson said: “All of our colleagues undergo relevant health and safety training so they are aware of the correct protocols to follow in stores.

“Whenever we are made aware of a breach of this policy, we immediately act to remedy that and that is what has happened in the examples the GMB has shared with us from our Wisbech store.”

Shop around

So far, only workers at the Asda supermarket in Gosport have actually walked out. The grocer said “fewer than 30 colleagues participated in industrial action” and that the store was unaffected.

Asda also said it has taken “reasonable action” and conducted a “full health and safety review” at Gosport, offering “additional training” for staff where required.

Although operations were relatively unaffected at the Gosport store, Dixon is adamant that this will not be the case if the Wisbech store votes for strike action as the majority of staff there are members of the GMB.

In a consultative ballot held two weeks ago, Dixon says a vast majority of members at the Wisbech store said they “want to take full industrial action”.

A formal ballot comes next, which will lead to a confirmed decision on whether staff will walk out. The ballots for Wisbech and the two Brighton stores end on March 5.

The GMB said more than 150 of its members at Asda Wisbech had originally asked for a vote on industrial action.

If the strike goes ahead, that could mean a high number of staff end up on the picket line, which would undoubtedly impact the way the Wisbech store is run during the walkouts.

Clive Black, vice-chair at Shore Capital, says that if strike action is limited to a small number of stores, this is “probably more of an itch rather than a rash” for Asda.

“If stores end up being closed, availability in shelves start to be affected, checkout services constrained and so forth, then the more stores involved the more serious the outcome,” he says.

“If the store is closed then there is always a danger that customers go somewhere else and that a proportion of those customers continue to shop elsewhere.”

Black concludes that the issues should get resolved “as quickly and smoothly” as possible if Asda wants operations to run efficiently.

However, the grocer does not appear concerned about the potential strike action, focusing instead on what the business has achieved in the time since the new owners bought it.

An Asda spokesperson said: “Since the Issa brothers and TDR took ownership of Asda less than three years ago, they have invested hundreds of millions of pounds in several strategic investments that position the business for long-term growth.

“These investments include building a nationwide chain of convenience stores from scratch (with over 300 currently open to date) and launching the Asda Rewards loyalty app – enabling customers to earn more than £300m to date.”

However, Dixon warns that the message is spreading between stores by “word of mouth” and that strike action could occur elsewhere. That would deal another blow to Asda, which is already struggling with a huge debt pile and public scandals.