Kingsmill Bakery’s bread deliveries are under threat after drivers at the firm’s West Bromwich site voted overwhelmingly for strike action this week.
More than 100 drivers at the West Bromwich site, which supplies 1.5 million loaves a week to customers including Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, took part in the ballot which saw a total of 130 staff vote 82% in favour of strike action.
The dispute centers on the company’s latest pay offer of a 2% pay rise including £150 for the year starting April 2017 and the same amount for the following year.
Unite has condemned the offer as “completely unacceptable” on the grounds that it is below the current 3% CPI inflation rate.
Unite officer Joe Clarke said the vote gave “an overwhelming mandate for Unite’s stance".
“We are waiting to hear back from the company on possible dates for new talks. There are differences between us over market pay rates and the cost of living which need to be resolved,” he said.
“We look forward to constructive talks with the company in a bid to resolve this dispute, but reserve the right to take strike action, if a new offer is not forthcoming,” he added.
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In a statement, Kingsmill Bakery, which is part of Allied Bakeries, said the company was “disappointed” that its delivery drivers had voted in favour of taking industrial action, adding that pay settlements at the West Bromwich site had been above the CPI rate of inflation for the past ten years, averaging 2.4%.
It added: “The current offer we are making to our delivery drivers at West Bromwich is comparable to that which has been accepted by all our other delivery drivers across the UK.
"It’s in line with the local market benchmark and above the amount many commercial vehicle drivers across the country will receive.”
Kingsmill Bakeries said it is “committed to trying to resolve the dispute amicably” and is open to further discussions but added that it has robust plans in place, should industrial action takes place to prevent any disruption to bread supplies.
