Industrial action at Wincanton’s operations for customer HJ Heinz in Wigan has been averted after URTU members accepted a fresh proposal over pay.
Members of the union had voted for industrial action this week (2 to 5 June) in relation to a pay dispute that goes back to last year. It had called for the basic wage in the RePack department at Heinz to be increased in line with the Living Wage (which currently stands at £7.45 for those outside of London). URTU claimed that its members are paid at the national minimum wage rate of £6.31.
A vote in favour of industrial action took place last week, however Brian Hurt, national officer at URTU, said: “The company made a fresh proposal to our members, we held an emergency meeting and the offer was unanimously accepted. We therefore withdrew the proposal for strike action.”
A spokesman for Wincanton said he was “pleased to confirm” that the proposed strike by 60 employees from its packaging team at the Wigan distribution centre operated on behalf of Heinz has been called off.
“This follows a meeting held on Friday 30 May with our employees and their representatives URTU when we were able to jointly resolve outstanding issues,” he said.
He added: “As a major employer in the Wigan area with over 340 Wincanton employees, our ultimate goal is to ensure long-term job security for our colleagues through remaining competitive in our industry and always delivering excellent customer service."
