Over 150 members of parliament have written to Asda's executives, urging the supermarket to end pay discrimination against its workers.

According to the GMB union, 159 politicians have called on TDR Capital to resolve a legal battle in which workers have brought their equal pay case to the employment tribunal.

GMB claims that female shop floor workers earn up to £3.74 per hour less than their male counterparts in Asda’s warehouses and are owed £2 billion in back pay.

At least 60,000 Asda supermarket workers, the majority of whom are female, have been embroiled in a 12-year legal struggle to receive the same pay as the predominantly male warehouse workers. The second stage of the hearing is currently taking place at the Manchester Employment Tribunal.

Supermarket workers' roles have been independently assessed as being equivalent to those of warehouse workers, meaning the roles should be paid equally.

"Low-paid women workers have propped up the profits of retail giants for too long. It's time they are paid properly for the valuable work they do,” said Nadine Houghton, GMB national officer. "The courts and now politicians are waking up to the scale of discrimination faced by women retail workers. Asda's owners now have a chance to do the right thing and pay them what they are owed."

A spokesperson for Asda told Retail Gazette: “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.”

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