Unite told FoodManufacture.co.uk that its members at the firm’s Cambuslang site in
The union also claimed to have been “hit on the blind-side” by the news as they prepared for the strikes, originally scheduled for March 8 and 12.
Consolidate its supply chain
Unite convenor at Vion, Scot Walker, said: “On Monday of this week, (March 5) Vion made an announcement that it had lost a large contract with Sainsbury’s after it had decided to consolidate its supply chain to two suppliers. Vion was not one of those and has decided to carry out a review of the situation.
“As a consequence, the particular strike dates have been suspended while we take a short period to assess what impact this will have one our members. I stress it will be a short period and probably no more than two weeks.”
FoodManufacture.co.uk reported on Monday that the strike dates had been confirmed to begin yesterday in a row over changes to pay terms and conditions at the firm.
The dispute began in October last year after workers rejected a 2% pay increase offer, plus changes to their holiday entitlement. The news followed press reports that Vion’s
Industrial actions
The Vion workforce voted overwhelmingly in favour of a series of industrial actions following an official ballot, where 92% of members backed strike action on a 72% turnout, according to Unite.
“Vion recognises a number of unions and organisations on a site-by-site basis. Our dispute at Cambuslang is over the pay offer,”
“Our members welcomed the holiday allowance but the 2% pay increase unfortunately amounts to a pay cut when you consider the Retail Price Index.”
The firm was unavailable for comment at the time of publication. But earlier in the week a Vion Spokesman described its proposals as “fair and reasonable”.
He said: “Vion can confirm that it has been advised of a further two days of industrial action by Unite at its Cambuslang site on March 8 and 12 in response to the annual pay award negotiations.
“The business continues to be disappointed with the response from the union as the company has presented a very fair and reasonable proposal, especially given the current challenging economic climate.”
The Cambuslang site is one of about 40
