Related Articles
Jacob’s Cream Crackers and Twiglets may be hard to come by this Christmas as the people who make them started a “permanent strike” today. More than 750 of the 800 workers at the Pladis factory in Aintree, near Liverpool, walked out this morning.
And they have vowed to keep the strike going until bosses agree to negotiate on pay.
Workers originally asked for a 10 percent pay rise – in line with inflation – but say they have only been offered an increase of 4.25 percent.
They have been taking part in industrial action at the site since September and have now moved to a permanent strike.
The Aintree factory opened in 1914, and was the first Jacob’s factory to be built in England, and remains the primary producer of Jacob’s products in the UK.
Foodstuffs including Jacob’s cream crackers, Twiglets and Club biscuits are made there. 14,000 tons of Jacob’s cream crackers are made at the factory every year.
The GMB union said its members had eased their demand to a rise of £1,750 each.
This works out as an increase of about nine percent for those on the lowest pay band and less than seven percent for more senior workers.
According to the union, Pladis – the company that owns the Jacob’s brand – announced it would move production to Portugal after more than a month of pay disputes at the factory near Liverpool.
READ MORE: Time the picketing strikers looked glum
GMB national officer Eamon O’Hearn said: “These workers are rightly angry – they put themselves on the line to keep the company going during the pandemic.
“Now they need some help to get them through the cost-of-living crisis. But it’s falling on deaf ears. In fact, more than that, bosses are shifting an iconic British brand to Portugal to undermine their own workers.
“This kind of naked corporate greed in the run-up to Christmas is disgraceful.”
In response, a Pladis spokesperson said: “We regret that the GMB has decided to take this course of action, despite all of the efforts we have made to reach an agreement with the union.
“However, we want to reiterate that our door remains open to the GMB for further discussions with their representatives.”
DON’T MISS
Wetherspoons names seven pubs across UK facing axe [REVEAL]
Poppies scorched in disgusting attack on veteran war memorial [REACTION]
Pub named The Black Bitch forced to change name [INSIGHT]
The staff at the factory are the latest workforce to walk out in a pay dispute with their employers as they fight for a salary increase that is in line with inflation.
Last Thursday the Public and Commercial Services Union announced that in a ballot of its 150,000 members working in the UK civil service, across 214 government departments, they voted in support of industrial action.
And hospitals are braced for walkouts as nurses at around half the hospitals in England have voted to strike, with the walkout set to start before the end of the year.
Firefighters could also go on strike this winter. Members of the Fire Brigades Union have been offered a five percent pay rise from their employers, but the union’s executive council is recommending they reject this.
The Communication Workers Union called off the postal strikes which were due to take place today and last Saturday (November 12).
But Royal Mail workers are still planning to walk out on November 24 and 25, as well as November 30 and December 1.
And, after several national train strikes were called off at the start of this month, the ASLEF union is said to be pressing ahead with the one planned for November 26.
