Fox’s staff vote for strike action
Batley's Fox's Biscuits factory. (d25101092)
STAFF at Fox’s Biscuits have voted in favour of a strike over changes to their working terms and conditions.
Members of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union (BFAWU) have been balloted over the Batley factory owner’s plans to take away some benefits in their contracts.
These include cuts to sick pay, redundancy pay, and overtime and bank holiday pay. In return, workers would be given a three per cent pay rise.
The ballot was returned on Monday by 397 people across the company’s Batley and Kirkham sites, with 70 per cent voting in favour of industrial action short of a strike, and 57 per cent voting in favour of a strike.
The union will now meet Fox’s management with ACAS, which gets involved in employment disputes, today (Thursday) to try to resolve the issue without the need for industrial action.
If the company and the union cannot reach an agreement, BFAWU says it will serve seven days’ notice of industrial action.
The union’s Branch Secretary Helena England said: “This is the last chance saloon for the company.
“Nobody wants to go on strike, it doesn’t do us or the company any good, but it’s got the point now where we have to stand up and fight.
“We’ve been through a lot in the last four years.”
A 2 Sisters spokesman said the firm was disappointed with the ballot result.
He added: “However we note that less than a third of employees across the Batley and Kirkham sites voted, with a significant number of those who did vote – nearly a half – voting against strike action. This means that only around a fifth of employees across Batley and Kirkham have voted to strike.
“We do not believe the appetite to strike is widespread and, with our attractive pay offer remaining on the table, we still remain hopeful of securing a workable outcome.
“Discussions are continuing.”
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Thursday 23 May 2013
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