Allied Bakeries agrees union deal to stop strikes

Members of the union had voted for strike action at Allied Bakeries in Cardiff over changes to holiday entitlements and shift patterns. The union said 56 out of 70 workers who cast ballots voted for industrial action.

The strike was to take place between 0600 on Wednesday (March 23) to 0600 on Thursday (March 24), which the union claimed was one of the busiest times for hot cross bun production for the company. 

Agreement had been reached​

Union representative John James from the Kingsmill, Maidenhead office, told FoodManufacture.co.uk an agreement had been reached to avert the action.

He said: “It looks like we have agreed a settlement. We have come to a compromise. ​

“Strike action does not sort out the issue and causes conflict putting jobs at risk. It is not in the interest of the union to take action.”​

Mike Auden, general manager, Allied Bakeries Wales, said: “Following constructive discussions with unions we are pleased to confirm that an agreement has been reached and it will be business as usual at our Cardiff Bakery next week.”​

Series of challenges​

Allied Bakeries has experienced a series of challenges already this year.

In January, the company revealed it had managed to boost sales volumes but admitted it was suffering from price challenges.

In the same month, Sainsbury recalled its sliced wholemeal bread after the retailer received a warning from supplier Allied Bakeries that it might contain metal pieces.

Last year was also a tough year for the bakery as Tesco dropped its Kingsmill brand in May. But by December 2015 two of the lines had been relisted with the supermarket chain.

In June it revealed it was to make 23 redundancies at Maidenhead and Liverpool as part of a streamlining exercise.