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TRADE union Usdaw announced a strike ballot for Weetabix workers in Northamptonshire today in a dispute over pay and shift patterns.
The vote, due to close on July 13, comes after the breakfast cereal giant announced a reduction in unsociable-hours pay as part of a proposed change in shift patterns at the company’s AP4 plant in Kettering.
If workers back strike action, Usdaw anticipates that regular 24- or 48-hour walkouts could start from the end of July.
Asserting that members had no choice but to act, area organiser Ed Leach called on Weetabix bosses to “move their position to avoid industrial action and disruption to the business.”
The company expressed disappointment over the ballot but claimed that “new ways of working” were needed to keep the firm competitive.
Unite is also fighting pay cuts for Weetabix engineers in the union’s latest fire-and-rehire dispute.
Planned strikes were suspended last week after the company promised not to alter workers’ contracts until at least September so that negotiations can continue.
