Female Asda workers to hold demonstration outside superstore over pay dispute

Female Asda workers are to rally outside a superstore next week in a long-standing dispute over pay.

The women, represented by GMB Scotland, will rally outside Asda’s Perth superstore on Monday.

The union says women shop workers are earning up to £2 less than male colleagues working in warehouse roles.

The retail company is currently facing the sector’s largest equal pay claim from 50,000 current and former workers.

GMB believes the back pay owed to women workers in Asda could top £30 million while securing pay equality would mean women workers receiving another £6,000 a year.

Robery Deavy, GMB Scotland organiser, said: “Women’s work in Asda and elsewhere has been undervalued too long and it is beyond time for that to change.

“Asda should stop spending money on lawyers and start paying women what they deserve.

“Every obstacle placed in their way only makes our members more determined.”

Asda said an upcoming hearing will assess whether certain store-based roles are of equal value to some depot-based roles, examining multiple job roles, such as checkout operators, shop floor staff and customer service desk workers.

These will be compared with depot roles, including warehouse colleagues who operate high reach trucks and work in cold or freezing conditions.

An Asda spokesperson said: “We fully respect the right of current and former colleagues to bring this case, however, we strongly reject any claim that Asda’s pay rates are influenced by gender.

“There are numerous different jobs within retail and within warehouses.

“We continue to defend these claims because retail and distribution are two different industry sectors that have their own distinct skill sets and pay structures.”