Asda worker
A third Asda store has balloted for industrial action.
The ballot result at Asda Brighton Hollingbury comes after industrial action was carried out at Asda Gosport and Wisbech in the last few months.
Members are angry at a number of issues with the employer, citing management bullying, a lack of adequate training, high staff turnover, and health and safety issues not being resolved in a timely manner. Asda staff are demanding to be heard and that the employer takes their concerns seriously.
Asda has been in the press recently after an audit found an additional £140 million profit had been undeclared, the decision of the private equity firm TDR Capital to leave the board of directors, and one of the co-owners, Zuber Issa, seeking to split his share of the company.
Declan MacIntyre, GMB regional organiser, told the press: “Asda is financed by TDR Capital and GMB has grave concerns that their heads might be turned by the debt pile of their other asset, Stonegate pub group. Let’s hope this ballot result re-focuses their attention on the plight of our members.”
GMB members do not want to see a repeat of Wilko, Southern Cross and other private equity-owned firms that have gone under in recent years. Asda demonstrates the failures of free-market capitalism, with policies that risk the food security of millions of people across the country.
If there is a risk of a major company like Asda going under, we should demand the bosses open the books to show where all the money has gone, and that the company is nationalised to save jobs.
