Valeo: York sweet factory workers vote to strike in pay row

As well as mints, the York Valeo factory also makes toffee, fudge and chocolate products

Workers at a York sweet factory have voted to strike in a row over pay, a union has said.

The dispute is at the Valeo site, where Fox's Glacier Mints and Mint Humbugs are manufactured, among several other brands of confectionery.

The GMB union said it would meet its members at the York site to discuss strike dates and was seeking a "fair deal" from Valeo.

The company has been approached by the BBC for a comment.

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The firm, which was formed in 2010, has factories in Cleckheaton, Pontefract and York, as well as three in the North West.

The York factory, in Low Poppleton Lane, opened in 1996 and as well as sweets also makes toffee, fudge and chocolate products.

The dispute with Valeo was over terms and conditions as staff had been offered a below-inflation pay rise, the GMB union said.

The site had about 200 workers of which about half were GMB members, it added.

Katherine Mitchell, GMB Organiser, said: "GMB members have kept the company and production going throughout the pandemic - all they are asking for is a fair deal."

She said a deal had "been overwhelmingly rejected twice" by workers at York and that an an improved offer had been made to workers at the company's plant in Pontefract.