Superdrug depot staff to strike

Superdrug said supplies to its shops would be unaffected

Workers at one of Superdrug's three national distribution centres are due to begin an indefinite strike over changes to pay and conditions.

Staff at the facility in Pontefract, West Yorkshire are due to walkout from 0530 GMT on Wednesday.

The Unite union said its 261 members at the site are striking due to cuts in shift pay and other entitlements.

A spokeswoman for Superdrug said supplies to its shops would not be affected by the action.

The firm, which is owned by Chinese investment group AS Watson, has two other distribution centres in Avonmouth and Dunstable.

These are both unaffected by the strike action in Pontefract.

'Regret'

The Superdrug spokeswoman added that in June the firm announced a review "to realign terms and conditions of colleagues" across the three centres.

"The objective of these proposals was to ensure consistent, harmonised and fair terms across all three sites and to protect jobs," she said.

As a result, the strike action was called at the Pontefract site.

"It is with regret that the union has chosen this course of action, and we continue to be keen to reach a satisfactory conclusion to our consultations in order to meet our objectives of protecting operations in these uncertain times and safeguarding jobs for the long term," she added.

The health and beauty chain has more than 900 stores across the UK.