Bakkavor workers vote to continue strike action outside Spalding factory

Factory workers have voted to continue their strike action in a long-running dispute over pay.

Staff at Bakkavor in Spalding have been manning a picket line outside the West Marsh Road factory since September - and this is set to continue following the latest vote.

Unite the Union says hundreds of workers voted ‘overwhelming’ for continuing the pay dispute ‘indefinitely’ following the latest re-ballot.

The union says that workers pay has decreased by 10.6% in real terms over the last three years and that it’s members are demanding a pay rise of 81 pence an hour on average - which amounts to 2% of Bakkavor profits.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “If Bakkavor thought they could just hold out a bit longer and our members would go back to work with their tails between their legs they have another thing coming.

“Hundreds of our members voted overwhelmingly for further strike action and they will have the full backing of Unite as they continue their fight for fair pay.”

Bakkavor workers first walked out of the factory, which makes products for Tesco, M&S, Sainsbury’s and Coop, on September 27.

Workers have taken the fight to Iceland where they displayed messages on the buildings of a major shareholder.

The union had also said that shoppers were feeling the impact of the strike - with a reported national shortage of the taramasalata in supermarket shelves last month.

Hundreds of workers also took part in a protest march around Spalding in October to raise awareness of the pay dispute.

Unite regional officer Sam Hennessey said: “Bakkavor continue to let down the communities they have built their business on. This is a dispute of their own making and the people of Spalding know they could resolve it with a stroke of pen and by paying a fair wage.

“Our members are absolutely resolute in their fight and the vote for further strikes means Bakkavor will continue to let down its customers for the foreseeable future.”