Strike suspended after new offer from Heinz
TODAY’S planned strike at Heinz’s food factory near Wigan has been called off after management made a new pay offer.
Plant workers held two days of strike action last month in protest at a pay offer of 3.3% in the first year and 3% in the second.
Under the new deal, workers would receive a 3.5% rise in the first year plus a £200 one-off payment and a 3.4% increase in the second year. Shift workers will get a further increase of between 0.6% and 1.6%.
The Unite union has agreed to suspend industrial action ahead of a ballot of its members on the offer. But it said there will be another strike on January 11 if this offer is rejected.
Jennie Formby, Unite’s national officer for food and drink, said: “Heinz has tabled a new offer and the senior stewards unanimously agree that we must give our members an opportunity to vote on this.
“However, Unite remains of the belief that the new offer, which represents only a small improvement, is less than our members deserve and certainly less than Heinz, a profitable and recession-resistant company, should and could be paying.”
Heinz’s Kitt Green factory employs around 1,200 staff making beans, soups, puddings and pasta meals.
