2 Sisters faces strike at RF Brookes factory

The BFAWU said workers could lose thousands of pounds in shift allowances if the plans were implemented.

John James, the organising regional secretary at the BFAWU, confirmed that a 48h strike would take place from 5am on Thursday June 2 to 5am on Saturday June 4.

The RF Brookes plant was said to employ 800 workers, of which 420 were union members.

2 Sisters was also dealing with disputes at two additional sites over wages, terms and conditions.  

Members of the Pennine Foods factory in Sheffield staged a 48h walkout at the end of last week, while Unite is currently balloting for action at the Pizza Factory in Nottingham over a pay claim.

National Living Wage

James told FoodManufacture.co.uk the union had asked that the dispute be referred to the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) for resolution. He said the changes to rates and working conditions at the company had been prompted by the government’s National Living Wage.

“There was a ballot on  May 17 in favour of strike action. We have asked to go to ACAS and are waiting for the company to respond.

“We don’t want our members to lose any money.

“We have members that are going to lose between 20% to 25% of their wages if this goes through.”

‘Responsible employer’

A spokesman for 2 Sisters said: “As a responsible employer with colleagues and customers at our heart, it is critical we create sustainable businesses to provide future job security for thousands of colleagues in the UK.

“We are a large and complex business and we cannot adopt one standard approach to wage negotiations, terms and conditions and shift patterns across all our sites. It is regrettable that we have yet to reach agreement at three sites, but talks are on-going.

“All production will remain unaffected by strike action.”

Meanwhile, read more about the vote on strike action at the Pizza Factory here.