Factory workers accept pay deal to end strike

Unite members at Bakkavor started strike action in September

Factory workers in Spalding have cancelled strike action after accepting a pay offer earlier this week.

Members of the Unite union, employed at food production company Bakkavor, have been striking in a dispute over pay since September.

Bakkavor confirmed to the BBC strike action had ended after employees accepted an offer which included a 7.8% pay rise to its lowest paid workers and 6.4% to other staff.

Unite regional officer Sam Hennessey said: "Following an improved offer from Bakkavor, our members were balloted and voted to accept the offer and return to work after a lengthy period of industrial action."

Bakkavor, which make and prepare food products for supermarkets, said about 400 staff - one-third of its Spalding workforce - went on strike in a dispute over pay.

A discretionary bonus of £350 per person and an above inflation pay rise were tabled for workers at the Spalding site in October last year.

The pay rise included a 7.8% pay increase to its lowest paid workers and 6.4% to other staff, but it was originally rejected by the union.

Unite previously blamed the strike action for shortages of dips, soups and wraps on supermarket shelves.

Workers were about the enter their sixth month of strike action before accepting the Bakkavor's offer.

A spokesperson for Bakkavor said: "We are pleased that Unite the Union has called an end to its strike action in Spalding with its union's members now accepting the final offer we put forward to them in October 2024.

"We are delighted that this draws an end to a very difficult time for all colleagues at Spalding."

The union confirmed the workers will officially return to work on 4 March.

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