Dates for three strikes to be held by Argos distribution workers have been confirmed for later this month.
Workers will down tools on July 17 and July 24 for 24 hours at a time followed by a four-day action commencing on July 30 after dispute over pay.

Workers voted in favour of strike action last week after Argos' offer of a four per cent increase was rejected.

Unite national secretary Jennie Formby said in a statement: "From next week Argos faces severe disruption to their customer distribution centre. A below inflation wage offer is a pay cut and this is totally unacceptable to our members. All our members are asking for is a fair share of the wealth they've worked so hard to create."

However, exactly how much wealth there is is a subject for city speculation at the moment. City broker ING downgraded its recommendation on Argos and Homebase parent company Home Retail Group (HRG) from 'buy' to 'hold' this weekand cut its target shareprice for the company from 315p to 225p per share.

The broker is thought to be concerned about the fact the company operates solely in the UK and that if domestic economic conditions continue to worsen the company may struggle.