Three-day Weetabix strike to go ahead

Strike action is due to start on Tuesday at two Weetabix factories.

Workers will stage protests over three days at the breakfast cereal company's sites in Burton Latimer and Corby in Northamptonshire.

The Usdaw union said it had tried to negotiate a pay deal but the firm had failed to put up a suitable offer.

Weetabix said it was "committed to an equitable solution that is fair to our wider workforce".

The company produced its first box of cereal at the Burton Latimer site in 1932.

Some years later, it created two factories on the Earlstrees Road Industrial estate in Corby. One was later demolished.

The management and unions are currently embroiled in a dispute over a pay rise.

The Usdaw union organised a ballot for industrial action which closed on 17 March.

Gavin Dadley, the Usdaw regional secretary, said: "Usdaw members at Weetabix voted overwhelmingly, by 89%, for industrial action.

"Subsequently, the union has been in negotiations with the company in attempts to reach a settlement offer that we could recommend to our members for acceptance.

"We regret that management have not improved sufficiently on the initial pay offer, which our members have rejected. "

Mr Dadley urged the company to "make an offer, even at this late stage, that could allow us to postpone this strike action.

"We remain firmly committed to arriving at a jointly negotiated settlement to end this dispute."

Weetabix said it was "naturally disappointed by Usdaw's decision to pursue industrial action but respect the voice of our production operators and their representatives".

"As a business we continue to invest in our people and offer competitive salaries," a spokesperson added.

"We are committed to an equitable solution that is fair to our wider workforce of 1,200 and remain keen to continue ongoing negotiations with our team and their representatives."

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