HGV drivers and warehouse workers’ plans to strike at GXO’s Feltham site in West London have been escalated from 15 to 22 days and will also now include warehouse workers’ weekend shifts, union Unite has announced.
Unite members at the site were set to strike this week from Monday 20 May to Friday 7 June but the union has confirmed that the strike action has been pushed back and extended and will now run from Tuesday 28 May to Tuesday 18 June.
Unite is warning that the new and extended strike dates will cause disruption to food and beverage distribution across the capital.
Announcing the new dates, Unite said that the dispute has been triggered by ”alarmingly low pay” at the site, which is less than the London Living Wage, currently set at £13.15 an hour.
Pointing to GXO Logistics’ £7bn turnover last year, the union added: ”The affected warehouse workers take home just over £12 an hour and are suffering from the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis as a result, while rates for HGV drivers are also below market rates.
The GXO Logistics workers transport goods for popular brands such as Costa Coffee and Whitbread - which owns Premier Inn.
Unite warned this week that provisions, such as food and drink, will be in short supply while workers are taking industrial action.
Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Out of sheer greed, this multi-billion-pound company is refusing to pay its workers the living wage.
“Unite puts the jobs, pay and conditions of its members first and the workers at GXO in Feltham will receive the union’s unyielding support.”
Lui D’Cunha, regional officer at Unite said: “Our members play a key role in GXO’s operations. GXO knows this. It has had every opportunity to make a fair pay offer but has declined to do so.”
GXO said this week it is “confident” that if the action goes ahead it will not cause any disruption to deliveries of goods from the site.
GXO also said it is continuing to work with Unite to find a resolution to along running pay dispute.
A GXO spokesperson said: ”We are currently in process with ACAS and Unite and have already made an enhanced offer as part of these negotiations.
”We are disappointed that this offer has not been communicated to our colleagues and we will continue to work with ACAS and Unite to find a resolution but are confident we can mitigate the impact of any industrial action.”
