MORE than 50 packaging plant workers in Winsford are set to strike next month over poor conditions and a 'paltry' pay offer.
Staff at the Jiffy Packaging plant, in Road Four on the Winsford Industrial Estate, will walk out for almost two weeks from July 1.
The company offered its workers a 1.5 per cent pay rise, which they are unhappy with amid the ongoing cost of living crisis and the real rate of inflation (RPI) standing at 4.3 per cent when the pay increase was due.
Unite said this pay rise was actually a real-terms pay cut, with the union's general secretary Sharon Graham describing the offer as 'paltry'.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "This is a paltry pay offer from a packaging company that could stuff envelopes full of cash with the profits it's making.
"Yet it’s choosing to give its workers a raw deal instead of rewarding and valuing their hard work.
"Unite will be backing our members every step of the way in this dispute."
Unite’s members are demanding an eight per cent pay increase backdated to the April 1, 2024.
Additionally, Unite said the Jiffy workers are 'furious' they only receive eight weeks of sick pay and want to see an increase to 12 weeks, alongside the reinstatement of breaks during the working day and changes to bank holiday working practices.
The workers' walk-out will begin on July 1 and continue until July 13. In addition to the strike action taking place, staff are refusing to work any overtime from July 1 until the dispute is resolved.
Jiffy Packaging is synonymous with padded envelopes and other packaging materials.
Unite revealed the company made nearly £6 million in gross profits according to its last accounts and 'can easily afford to make a decent pay offer to their employees'.
Unite regional officer Gary Fairclough added: "Our members are rightly furious at this insult of a pay offer coupled with terrible sick pay, the removal of break times and a host of other conditions which paints Jiffy as an employer that simply doesn’t value its staff.
"It will see the anger of our members first hand on the picket line outside its factory next month."
The Guardian contacted Jiffy for a statement, but no-one was available to comment at this time.
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