Nestlé workers in the UK are to vote on industrial action as a wrangle over pay and bonuses continues.
The move follows a ballot over pay at Nestlé’s York site earlier this year after which the Swiss food giant backed down over a pay freeze to offer staff at the site a 1% increase in basic pay.
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However, it is understood around 90% of GMB and Unite union members in York recently voted in favour of staging a ballot, with leaders recommending the offer be declined.
The new ballot would be the first national one to be held at Nestlé plants across the UK, with members at Girvan, Fawdon, Halifax, Castleford, Dalston and Hayes joining colleagues in York in the vote.
Despite this, a spokesperson for Nestlé told just-food that it has undertaken meetings at all but one of the sites and believed it had made “quite a lot of progress” with the unions.
“We are perplexed and disappointed by this news. The company is engaged in local negotiations at almost all our sites. Nestlé has never held negotiations on a national basis.”
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By GlobalDataThe spokesperson insisted that discussions are “moving forward” but that talks with each site are at different stages depending on when the facility is due for a pay review.
Unite could not be reached for comment.
