GMB Collective Grievance in Asda Trowbridge

Please fill in this form if you work at Asda Trowbridge and wish to sign the collective grievance detailed below:

To whom it may concern,

We the undersigned are Asda colleagues from the Trowbridge store.

With the support of our union, GMB, we wish to raise a number of important issues and complaints with you, for dealing with under Asda’s formal grievance procedure.

In accordance with the procedure, please arrange a meeting to discuss this grievance and we would hope that these can be expediently addressed. Please note that we wish to exercise our right under the ACAS Code of Practice to be represented at any grievance meeting by a representative from our union, GMB.

Please be advised however that our Trade Union will likely look to protect our position by undertaking a consultative ballot, potentially followed by a formal industrial action ballot, should the substantive matters mentioned below not be addressed in a timely fashion and to the satisfaction of us, the undersigned.

We feel the store is generally understaffed staff across all areas, with the effect that colleagues are exhausted, anxious and often on the brink of breaking.
Staff shortages often affect customer service, leaving us as front-line staff receiving abuse from customers. An example of this is the 12 self-scan points, which should be operated by 2 people, being currently covered by 1 struggling operative.
Store security is currently only there for around 60 per cent of store opening times and is almost certainly a contributor to the £28,000 of stolen alcohol in the last year. We feel our own safety and security is being compromised, particularly considering the aforementioned increase in customer abuse. Security at night, and therefore the safety of those working during store replenishment hours, is non-existent and places all staff at risk of assault. The exterior gate at the rear of the store is left unlocked if not completely open, allowing easy access to the warehouse and shop floor. On at least two occasions intruders have been discovered on site during nights because of this open access, posing a real H&S risk to all of us working nights.
There are two lifts to bring goods up from the warehouse to the shop floor, one of which has permanently out of action for some time now, with the remaining lift in serious need of maintenance. Users are operating in the pitch black with no working lights and call buttons working in the lift. The doors and interior lift gate need considerable force to open and close them prior to operating the lift.
The new operating system for pay is not working and not consistent when correcting pay errors. When paid incorrectly, we are having to wait for up to 10 weeks to get backpay, and frequent further shortfalls in this backpay mean we have no confidence that we will be paid what we are owed, when we are owed it, for work carried out. We seek local attention to be paid to this issue, in addition to the regional grievance which we understand has been submitted.
At times, the colleagues’ toilets are only being cleaned once a week and often without the proper cleaning products. They are often unpleasant to use.
Morale is very low in staff and this has been compounded by a change in the store’s choice of music playlist. The music is depressing and is contributing to a low mood among colleagues and we request that it be changed, if possible back to how it was previously.