ASDA WORKERS AND LIFE SIZE CUT OF BOSS MANJIT DALE WILL HOLD PHOTO CALL AT CLAPHAM JUCTION ASDA STORE OVER ASSET STRIPPING

Where: ASDA Clapham Junction Superstore, 204 Lavender Hill, SW11 1JG

When: Tuesday 30^th July, 12pm midday

Contact: Nadine Houghton 07714239227 / nadine.houghton@gmb.org.uk

Dozens of ASDA workers and a life-size cut out of ASDA boss Manjit Dale will all be outside Clapham Junction ASDA store to demonstrate their anger over the asset stripping of the supermarket.

Under TDR Capital, Asda’s private equity owners, millions of hours have been slashed from the shop floor as the company desperately tries to service its debt mountain. [1]

Leading to health and safety issues, dirty stores and declining standards.

In Asda Clapham Junction alone, GMB estimates approximately 7 per cent of the hours in the store have been cut in the past two years alone. [2]

ASDA’s shop floor workers – who are predominantly women – are also owed billions of pounds in back pay through their equal pay claim.

In the Clapham Junction store this amounts to £1.8 million owed to current and previous ASDA workers. [3]

Nadine Houghton, GMB National Officer, said:

“This is daylight robbery of a much-loved British institution with Asda workers and customers paying the price for TDR Capital’s financial engineering.

“TDR Capital are behaving like robber barons and fast becoming the unacceptable face of UK capitalism.

“GMB will not stand by while Asda workers are forced to do more work with less hours and declining health and safety standards.

“The billions of pounds owed to these workers through their equal pay claim grows by the second too.

“Figures released by GMB today show the impact that cutting hours is having to your local Asda and how much the workers in your store are owed through their equal pay claim.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

[1] Under TDR Capital, ASDA has seen:

1. A current debt pile of £4.84bn
2. An additional £1.5bn of borrowing against ASDA to buy EG group petrol stations
3. Sale and Leaseback of its warehouses
4. Borrowing against 55 ASDA supermarkets
5. Declining market position to become the worst performing of the Big 4 supermarkets
6. Most expensive UK supermarket to buy fuel

Asda’s owners piled on £1.5bn of liabilities to fund petrol station deal (ft.com)

Data: Asda market share to fall as Aldi closes the gap - Retail Gazette

RAC names UK's most expensive supermarket for fuel (telegraph.co.uk)