Supermarket shelves across Melbourne have been left bare and deprived of essentials, including nappies, toilet paper and drinks, as hundreds of picketing workers blocked Woolworths’ attempts to reopen a warehouse during an indefinite strike.

More than 1500 United Workers Union members entered their 12th day of strikes across four of the retail giant’s distribution centres on Monday, and picketed the Dandenong South distribution centre after the company announced plans to reopen it.