WORKERS at Asda have voted to strike in a bitter row over pay and bargaining, threatening one of the biggest supermarket disputes, it was announced yesterday.

Workers in Asda depots across the UK, including more than 400 employees at Washington, Wearside, could strike as early as next week.

The GMB union said its members at 20 distribution centres backed walkouts by 3-1, while industrial action short of a strike was supported by a 4-1 majority.

Shop stewards will meet today to decide their next move and are expected to set strike dates.

The GMB union would need to give at least seven days' warning of industrial action and a walk out could be timed to coincide with a World Cup game involving England.

Michael Hopper, regional GMB organiser, sits on the national negotiations panel and will attend today's meeting in Manchester.

He said workers at Washington and the new Teesport depot, who did not take part in the strike ballot, were among the lowest paid by Asda.

"We are art the bottom level. We don't want the North-East to be the poorest depot, we want workers to be part of a national chain where everyone benefits. All we are asking for is national pay conditions," he said.

"We are meeting with shop stewards to discuss our next actions. We need to give seven days' notice of a strike, so it could happen as early as next week."

The GMB sent out 5,347 ballot papers, with 57 per cent of its members taking part in the voting.

They backed strikes by 2,209 to 771, while action short of a strike was supported by 2,483 votes to 487.

The GMB has warned employment agencies they will face legal action if they supply temporary staff to fill in for striking workers.