A planned strike at a Greencore UK sandwich plant has been averted for now following a new pay offer from the food-to-go business.
Staff at the Manton Wood factory in Worksop, a town in the East Midlands county of Nottinghamshire, had been due to take industrial action from 11 September to 9 October.
However, a spokesperson for the representative Unite union confirmed the strike action was called off last Friday (8 September).
“Following a successful ballot, workers were due to take to the picket line but a last-chance saloon offer from Greencore has seen them suspend strike action as a good-will gesture while the new offer is put to Unite members,” the union said in a statement.
Unite claimed more than 500 Greencore employees at Manton Wood were earning “as little as” £10.53 ($13.09) an hour but did not reveal what the new pay offer from the private-label supplier was.
Nor did Greencore. A spokesperson for the company, which supplies major UK supermarkets, convenience stores and foodservice outlets, said in a statement: “Following further negotiation with Unite in recent days, we are pleased to have reached agreement in principle on a deal that we believe is in the best interests of our colleagues at Manton Wood and, importantly, means that potential industrial action at the site can be avoided.”
The Manton Wood facility supplies sandwiches, wraps and baguettes to the food-to-go channel, according to the Dublin-headquartered company’s website.
In response to the planned strike action at the start of September, Greencore had said it was willing to negotiate after its “final pay” offer was rejected by the union.
Talks had been ongoing since January.
Andy Shaw, a Unite regional officer said “Greencore has finally come back to the negotiating table after the threat of strike action by our members,” reiterating discussions are to take place with staff on the new offer.
Greencore booked a bottom-line loss of £6.2m in the second quarter to 31 March, compared to a £1m profit a year earlier, according to the company’s financial report issued in May.
A trading update published in July for the third quarter to 30 June did not include profit figures. Revenue, however, rose 1.9% on a reported basis to £495.4m. Food-to-go sales were up 0.6% at £335.3m, while for other convenience products it climbed 4.7% to £160.1m
