Workers at Asda Lowestoft are striking for 48 hours over what has been described as a “litany of workplace issues”.

Trade union GMB, which represents the workers, said that "nearly 200" Asda employees will walk out from 00:01 on Friday 10 May until 23.59 on Saturday 11th May.

Asda said that only 122 members of the 260-strong workforce at the store had voted in favour of strike action.

Workers are striking over a number of issues, including cuts to hours, “bullying management”, and poor quality training.

They also allege that health and safety issues are not being addressed, with fire safety breaches “rampant”, and say that equal pay is not being resolved in a timely manner.

“Asda Lowestoft workers don’t want to go on strike," said Keith Dixon, GMB regional organiser. "But they’ve been backed into a corner by the terrible problems they now face at work.

"Standards are falling – Asda faces thousands of health and safety breaches, including blocked fire exits, fire routes and fire extinguishers, along with faulty fire alarm systems. And with worker hours slashed, things are only going to get worse.”

A spokesperson from Asda said that the organisation was "disappointed" with the action taken by GMB and reassured customers that the Lowestoft store remains open over the weekend.

"We have taken practical steps in Lowestoft to address the points raised by the GMB and will continue to engage with their representatives with the aim of reaching an amicable solution for all parties," they continued.

In February, two Asda superstores in Brighton were balloted after workers said that they were unhappy about a series of complaints that had not been dealt with by managers.

Issues raised include a lack of hours, poor contracts, health and safety not being dealt with in a timely matter, high turnover of staff placing pressure on remaining staff, and staff training that is "not fit for purpose".

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