More than 700 staff at a Spalding factory look set to walk out over pay later this month.
The action at Bakkavor is due to a ‘derisory pay offer’ according the union Unite.
Members of the union who work in food preparation and manufacturing for customers including Tesco, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose will stop working from Friday, September 27.
“Our members are rightly angry after years of below-inflation pay rises, the most recent offer is an insult. Bakkavor needs to rapidly think again and come back with an improved pay deal,” said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham.
According to the union, members work long shifts of demanding manual work for ‘very low pay’. It also says some of the staff members have been forced to use food banks to survive.
The union says there will be shortages on the shelves of Bakkavor customers as a result of the action.
Staff earn just above the minimum wage and have refused an offer of six per cent when it was made in May.
But the company has also revealed half-year profits of £55m for 2024.
According to the union, Bakkavor had offered an increased deal of 7.8 per cent to those on the lowest wage and 6.4 per cent across the other grades. But union members were looking for eight per cent.
“Strike action will inevitably cause disruption and shortages to supermarkets across the UK but this dispute is entirely of Bakkavor’s own making,” said Unite’s regional officer Sam Hennessy.
The union has clarified its phrase of ‘indefinite strike’ and says it means there is no end date specified at this point.
“Bakkavor has built a highly profitable business on the backs of workers and yet fails to recognise heir hard work in incredibly tough working conditions” added Sharon.
“Workers at the company spend long shifts working in near-freezing temperatures, doing repetitive and demanding manual work.”
Bakkavor is organising contingency plans for the factory ahead of the strike and says workers have access to a broader package of benefits including life insurance, retailer discounts and personal accident insurance.
