Over 150 MPs call on Asda to end equal pay dispute

More than 150 MPs have written to Asda bosses calling for them to end an ongoing equal pay dispute, the GMB Union has said. According to the union, 159 MPs have written to majority owner TDR Capital urging it to settle the legal battle, which has seen “tens of thousands” of supermarket workers bring their equal pay case to the employment tribunal.

The letter reportedly highlights that “women workers on the shop floor earn up to £3.74 per hour less than their male counterparts in warehouses”, the union said, as well as the £2bn in back pay currently owed to staff.

At least 60,000 Asda supermarket workers, the majority of whom are female, have been locked in a 12-year legal dispute to be paid the same as the predominantly male warehouse workers.

The second stage of the hearing is currently being heard in the Manchester Employment Tribunal.

The supermarket workers’ roles have been independently assessed as being “equivalent or equal” to the work of warehouse workers, meaning the roles should be paid equally.

An Asda spokesperson told Retail Sector: “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.”

Nadine Houghton, GMB national officer, added: “GMB members working in Asda stores will be delighted to know that politicians support their cause. Low paid women workers have propped up the profits of retail giants for too long, its time they are paid properly for the valuable work they do.

“The courts and now politicians are waking up to the scale of discrimination faced by women retail workers and now Asda’s owners have a chance to do the right thing and pay them what they are owed.”