Burton Latimer: Weetabix strike action over pay suspended

The strike action at Burton Latimer has been suspended for one week

Planned strike action by Weetabix workers over pay for unsocial hours has been suspended.

Members of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) at the Burton Latimer plant had planned to walk out from 19:00 BST on Monday.

The union said the planned 24-hour stoppage has been suspended for a week while talks with managers at Weetabix take place.

Weetabix said it was "confident" an agreement could be reached.

Workers at the cereal bar factory previously voted unanimously for industrial action.

Weetabix has been made in Burton Latimer, near Kettering, since 1932

Usdaw area organiser Ed Leach said: "We have been in talks with the company since we announced a 24-hour stoppage.

"In order to allow those talks to continue we have decided to withdraw the action planned for later today."

He said industrial action was now due to take place on 9 and 10 August unless a resolution is found.

"We hope that the positive discussions can be maintained and a resolution can be achieved by the end of this week," Mr Leach added.

"Industrial action is very much a last resort, but the unanimous vote to strike shows the strength of feeling among our members on the value of the shift premium pay for unsocial hours."

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A spokesperson for Weetabix Food Company said: "We are pleased that the strike has been postponed and are confident that over the next week we can reach a long-term agreement with our employees' representatives.

"Our success over nearly 90 years has been built on a strong sense of teamwork, and a mutually agreeable solution on new ways of working will allow us to continue to invest in our people, plants, and products long into the future."

In a separate dispute involving engineers, planned strike action by members of the Unite union was also suspended in June as talks with management continued.