'Seemingly huge differences' between conditions for staff at London HQ and for Yorkshire workers, says GMB.

ASOS today announced plans to create 1,500 jobs in its London HQ just days after GMB, the union for ASOS workers, held a ‘catwalk of shame’ outside the AGM in protest at conditions for warehouse workers in Yorkshire.

London based staff seem to enjoy a number of perks - including long weekends during the summer and lavish parties complete with ferris wheels and fair ground rides - while the company has come under fire for poor working conditions in its distribution centre.

Reports from the Grimethorpe site have pointed to excessive monitoring of workers, multiple security checks each day (including to and from the toilet), the use of flex contracts that leave staff unsure how many hours they will work each week and a reliance on agency work in the former mining village.

Neil Derrick, GMB Yorkshire regional secretary said: "We welcome the announcement of 1,500 new jobs at ASOS but not when GMB's concerns for the workers in Yorkshire have been completely ignored.

"Workers in Yorkshire work incredibly hard - fast fashion doesn't happen by accident.

“The company's growth is on back of workers in their Yorkshire warehouse, yet there seems to be a huge disparity between how ASOS staff in London and workers in Yorkshire are treated.

“Conditions in Barnsley are frankly shocking and have caused the GMB grave concern over the past two years.

“Will the new London staff have secure, permanent roles? Or will they be forced to live with flex contracts like the Yorkshire staff?

“If ASOS want to provide 'fashion with integrity' as they claim, working with us to make their Yorkshire site a decent place to work would be a start."

ENDS

Contact: Neil Derrick on 07958156832 or at [email protected]