Christmas delivery strike off

Both parties have come to a mutual agreement on the treatment of the historical pay issues specific to the Barton site which will be put to the Unite members in a ballot.

As a result, all planned industrial action has been suspended pending the results of the ballot, which will be concluded as quickly as possible.

Today’s agreement demonstrates Wincanton and Unite’s desire to reach an amicable agreement, one that addresses the needs of all interested parties.

“We have had constructive talks with the Wincanton management today (December 14) and, as a result, we have hammered out a deal that Unite feels it can recommend to our members,” said Unite regional officer Rick Coyle.

“The details of the deal are confidential and we will be balloting our drivers on the offer.

“While this ballot is being conducted all proposed industrial action has been suspended and our members at the Argos national distribution centre in Staffordshire will be working normally,” he added.

“I would like to thank our members for the solidarity they have shown during this dispute and we look forward to a positive relationship with the management at Wincanton going forward.”

A Wincanton spokesperson said,“We are equally pleased that our planned meeting today has produced an outcome which works for all parties.

“All industrial action has now been suspended pending a ballot on the terms of the agreement among Unite members, and at this important time of year, the Argos business will be unaffected.

“This issue is specific to Barton, Staffordshire, and no other Wincanton operations have been affected.”

A spokesperson for Argos said, “We’re pleased that both sides (Wincanton and Unite) have resolved their issues. Once again, we’d like to reassure our customers that it’s business as usual this Christmas at Argos.”