Bakkavor sets the record straight following its meaningful attempt to settle the strike in Spalding

LONDON, Nov. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to union claims of an international campaign to lobby our stakeholders - Bakkavor today speaks out and sets the record straight on the local strike in Spalding, which it has attempted to resolve.

Donna-Maria Lee, Chief People Officer at Bakkavor comments: "It is now six weeks since Unite the Union commenced strike action with a minority of our Spalding colleagues. It is now clear to us that it is becoming increasingly difficult to resolve this dispute with Unite and get people back to work anytime soon. We have engaged the Union in discussions since the start, and our CEO met with them recently out of a genuine desire to resolve the issue. Whilst a material discretionary bonus (of £350 per person) and an above inflation pay rise have been tabled for Spalding colleagues, the Union has now advised us that they have put it to ballot, with a recommendation to reject our offer.

"Coupled with this, working colleagues have reported being made to feel uncomfortable by the strikers, and the Union has set out on what it describes as "an international campaign" to directly lobby our stakeholders – when the real task for them is to settle a dispute in Spalding.

"It takes both parties to engage and whilst we have sought to resolve the issue, I met with the Union this week and it is clear that Unite has little interest in moving forward with the situation at Spalding and is intent on lobbying, publicity and politics, rather than solving a strike that they called for."

Some key fact-checking on the context behind the strike:

• The Union has wrongly claimed that more than 700 of its members in Spalding are taking industrial action. Whilst the union may have 700 members of the 1,400-strong workforce, only c.450 are not attending work.
• Over two-thirds of Spalding colleagues, more than 950, have not engaged with strike action and are reporting to work as usual. We would like to thank them for their loyalty and support in the face of external attempts to disrupt and discredit the business.
• Whilst the union has repeatedly accused Bakkavor of making derisory pay rises, the truth is quite different. In September Bakkavor put forward an improved offer of 7.8% to its lowest paid colleagues and 6.4% across all other grades – well above the national living wage and inflation, which now stands at 1.7% (2.0% at the settlement date in May).
• Over the past three years, CPI in the UK has grown by 21%, at our Spalding site over the same three-year period the pay rate for our lowest paid colleagues has risen by 22.8% and all other grades by 21.2%, both above inflation for the period. This excludes improvements we have made to broader benefits over the same period.
• In summary, the Union's claims of "years of real terms pay cuts", whilst emotive, are completely without basis. The reality is that Bakkavor has worked hard to protect our colleagues through the cost-of-living crisis which many businesses have not been able to do.
• Further to the increases put forward in September, Bakkavor has offered all Spalding colleagues a discretionary £350 per person bonus to try and resolve the strike, this payment is over and above the pay rise. Again, this demonstrates Bakkavor's willingness to engage.
• In addition to rates of pay, Bakkavor staff also receive a wide range of benefits including life insurance, personal accident insurance, access to a vast range of retailer discounts and heavily subsidised food through Bakkavor's staff shops.
• Nationally, Bakkavor's proposed pay rises have been welcomed across its other 20 UK sites, with over 13,500 colleagues receiving their pay rises versus our colleagues at Spalding whose payments have been delayed due to this process.
• Contrary to claims of disruption to UK food supply, Bakkavor can confirm Christmas will be unaffected by the local issue at Spalding. Its Christmas ranges are made at its other UK sites. There has been some short-term disruption to soups as an isolated product category. Traditionally, Bakkavor's soups are only made at Spalding - but work is in hand to resolve this very quickly. This is part of our contingency planning which has enabled us to continue to produce the vast majority of products from this site.

Mike Edwards CEO at Bakkavor concludes: "In the Autumn Budget last week, the Government set out the twin aim of supporting workers and creating economic growth. We support both of these things at Bakkavor and in truth they cannot actually be separated. Our colleague pay and benefits are well above the minimum wage and ahead of inflation.