Frustration for Princes office staff in Long Sutton as they miss out on new Unite pay deal

Bosses say it’s ‘unfortunately not possible’ for all Princes staff to have the same pay rise - with office workers labelling the new deal ‘unfair’.

The food manufacturer, which has a base in Bridge Road in Long Sutton, recently gave workers a 7% pay rise and a one-off £750 payment after talks with the Unite union.

However, office workers at the same site are disappointed that they are not getting the same deal.

Instead, it’s understood that these ‘salaried’ staff, who are not part of the union, can earn a maximum of 2.5%, based on performance.

One person with knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be named, said people are ‘disgruntled’.

They said: “They weren’t expecting the salaried staff to question it.

“The maximum anyone would get is 2.5% - it isn’t decided on the cost of living it’s on performance.

“It’s not fair on the salaried staff. People are moaning about it but it doesn’t seem like they are taking it seriously.”

Princes promised ‘new initiatives’ for these workers after a review of the benefits package - with an announcement due at the end of the month.

Joe Dent, Chief People Officer at Princes Limited, said: “Princes has recently agreed a pay deal with the local union representatives across our seven UK food, soft drinks and edible oil manufacturing sites.

“We approached the negotiations openly and with positive intent in order to ensure an agreement could be reached with regard to the pay our operational colleagues receive.

“Clearly these talks were influenced by the impact of the current financial pressures faced by individuals and businesses alike.

“While we would of course like to be in a position to offer a similar increase for all colleagues across the business, this is unfortunately not possible within the current economic environment.

“However, as a business, we take seriously our commitment to supporting colleagues at this challenging time. We have assessed the overall benefits package offered to our non-operational colleagues and further information regarding new initiatives will be shared internally at the end of the month.”

It’s understood that staff may contact the unions to see if they can be part of future negotiations.