UK and Irish trade union Unite announced that it has launched legal action against catalogue retailer, Argos along with employment agencies Templine and Single Resource after the union claimed Argos was attempting to break a strike by using agency labour.

In legal letters of claim, Unite accuses Argos and the two employment agencies of acting unlawfully by using agency labour to cover striking workers at Argos’ central distribution centre at the Barton business park, Burton-on-Trent.   

The Argos workers at Barton, along with colleagues in Essex, West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester are in the second week of a three week strike over the company’s failure to negotiate a national agreement covering redundancy and severance packages.

Unite claims that Argos and the employment agencies are in breach of regulations that its says makes it illegal for agencies to provide workers to cover strikes. If the legal claim is successful, the union could be granted a High Court injunction.

“As part of our legal action we will be seeking full disclosure from Argos and the two employment agencies of any information relating to the use of agency workers during the strike,” Unite assistant general secretary for legal services Howard Beckett, said. “Argos bosses should be under no illusion. Unite will not tolerate strike busting and would urge Argos to focus its attentions on ending the strike, rather than failed attempts at trying to break the strike.”

“Argos bosses need to stop exploiting agency workers to break this strike and wake up to the determination of our members,” Unite national officer Matt Draper said. “Argos’ crude attempts to undermine lawful industrial action will only serve to stiffen the resolve of our members and prolong the disruption that strike action brings. We would urge management to engage constructively and positively in talks and hammer out an agreement that deals with our members’ concerns.” 

The claim follows a report that showed Argos was one of 223 UK businesses that were named and shamed for not paying employees the minimum wage. It also follows Unite’s warning of legal action against waste company Suez over an advert that was seeking temp workers to fill in during a strike.