Fox on the run

Biscuit production at Fox’s Biscuits in Batley, west Yorkshire is set to be hit next week by engineering workers striking over a ‘paltry’ pay offer.

The 42 engineers, members of Unite, will be taking part in a series of stoppages which will mean no engineering cover for the six hour period from 4am to 10am on Tuesday (April 21) and Thursday (April 23).

The engineers at the Wellington Street site are angry at the one per cent offer for the year, starting on August 1, 2014, with a further two per cent from August 1 this year.

“We believe that the offer for the pay year due to have started last August is paltry and insulting and the offer for year two is not much better,” said Unite regional officer Sarah Mitchell.

“The fact that the company did not even come to us with an offer until November 17, despite two previous meetings makes it worse,” she added, saying that the company’s behavior “left a sour taste in the mouth.”

Mitchell went on to say that biscuit production would be disrupted.

“We call on the management to sit down with us to discuss a realistic pay offer from this profitable company before our members strike next week,” she said.

The engineers voted by 65 per cent in favour of strike action.