Staff at Sainsbury’s Waltham Point warehouse go on strike

Up to a third of workers at Sainsbury’s largest depot have gone on a 24 hour strike against the company’s decision to change its absence policy.

The action was approved last month by members of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw), and will run until 6am tomorrow (28 July).

The depot hires 1,200 staff, and supplies to London stores, and union urges the supermarket chain to renegotiate or more action could be planned.

Earlier this month, a Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We have contingency plans in place to minimise any disruption this may cause our customers.”

Nigel Scully, Usdaw divisional officer, added: “Usdaw members have been forced to take industrial action in response to the company’s refusal to negotiate on their proposals to change the attendance policy. We remain committed to resolving this dispute as quickly and effectively as possible.

“Our members have not taken lightly the decision to strike. We sincerely hope that the company returns to the negotiating table, as soon as possible, with a reasonable offer that could resolve this dispute.”