Wincanton faces strike action amid claims employee was sacked over trade union activities

The United Road Transport Union (URTU) said Wincanton’s delivery work for Wilko would be affected after members voted to strike in a dispute over a staff sacking.

Industrial action is due to take place on 18 July and URTU said store deliveries serviced by the Magor distribution centre in South Wales would face disruption.

Wincanton would not comment on the situation other than saying it was in ongoing discussions with the union and it remained committed to finding a resolution.

However, URTU said the strike was prompted by the apparent sacking of one of its shop stewards.

It claimed the staff member was dismissed for his trade union activities and Wincanton had failed to look for any alternatives to him losing his job.

In a statement, URTU said that the disciplinary policy at the Wilko distribution centre should be used for correctional purposes and not automatically punitive purposes.

“There are and were alternatives to dismissal that the company could have used to address the allegations made against the member, but the company chose to ignore those alternatives and dismiss,” the statement said.

Brian Hart, URTU national officer, said: “Based on my 23 years’ experience as a union representative, I am in no doubt that the real reason for the dismissal of our site shop steward was his trade union activities.

“I have worked with our member many times in recent years and I have seen first-hand the diligent work he does on behalf of our members.

“This supports my genuine view that the real reason for his dismissal was the concerted effort by the management of Wincanton to oust him from the company to make the problem of a diligent trade union representative go away.”