‘Shoddy’ pay offer

Four days of strike action, from Saturday (January 12), are on the cards at an East Yorkshire chocolate crumb manufacturer over a ‘shoddy’ pay offer.

The workers at Meadow Foods at Holme on Spalding Moor are due to walk-out at 6pm on January 12, after voting for strike action over a two per cent pay offer for the year starting July 2018.

The action, which ends at 6pm on Tuesday, January 15 is planned to hit night and day shifts over the four days.

Unite, which represents more than half of 71 employees, said that there was still time for the management to come to the table for constructive talks.

“Our members have overwhelmingly rejected a shoddy two per cent pay offer and are seeking an increase in line with the retail price index, currently running at 3.2 per cent, to keep up with the soaring cost of living,” said Unite regional officer Dave Monaghan.

“This modest demand is in sharp and glaring contrast with the excessive 82 per cent increase that the company directors pocketed as highlighted in the latest accounts,” he added. “It’s no wonder that our members are furious at the huge ‘them and us’ disparity between the pay of the bosses compared with those that actually generate the profits.”

“There is still a generous widow of opportunity for the management to sit down and enter into meaningful negotiations before the strike is due to commence.

“This site produces ingredients for other manufacturers and, if the strike goes ahead, we predict it will have a negative impact on the factory’s ability to keep up with customer demand.”

Unite members voted by 73 per cent for strike action.