Unite, the trade union, has said it has secured a pay rise for hundreds of workers employed by Bakkavor at four factories in Lincolnshire. These are: Bakkavor Pizza in Holbeach; Bakkavor Salad in Bourne; Bakkavor Desserts in Newark; Bakkavor Meals in Sutton Bridge.
Workers at a fifth site Bakkavor Foods in West March Road, Spalding already received a higher rate of pay than the other factories, Unite claimed. In this case, Unite claimed it had been able to negotiate a £100 one-off payment to all hourly paid workers.
The union said it had prepared to ballot for industrial action after it had introduced a £250 extra payment to new starters once they had completed 16 weeks of work, while refusing to make a similar incentive payment to its existing workforce.
However, Bakkavor said that the pay increase had been planned for some time after competitive benchmarking of rates of pay locally at each of its manufacturing sites.
Pay increase
A spokesman for Bakkavor said: “Bakkavor, the UK’s leading fresh prepared food manufacturer, is set to implement a discretionary, out-of-cycle pay increase for the majority of its factory-based colleagues around the UK, which is over and above its normal annual pay award.
“The pay increase has been planned by Bakkavor for some time, after competitive benchmarking of rates of pay locally at each of its manufacturing sites. The move, has been well received by Bakkavor colleagues, who have played a huge part in helping to maintain food supply throughout the pandemic and during more recent supply chain challenges."
Important deal
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is a highly important deal for Unite’s members at Bakkavor who, by standing together, have secured permanent pay rises for all workers.
“Unite is absolutely committed to defend the jobs, pay and conditions of all its members and this result for workers at Bakkavor, many of whom are low paid, demonstrates our commitment in action.”
In July, the fresh prepared foods producer revealed it was to recruit for 1,500 roles across its UK manufacturing base. It was recruiting for 680 jobs across its Lincolnshire sites, with a further 196 roles to be filled in Nottingham, 148 in Kent and 139 in Bo’ness, Scotland.
Last month, the company revealed it has secured a £13.3m asset finance deal from HSBC UK to help fund an overhaul of its refrigeration systems.
