Unite makes formal complaint against Bakkavor in pay dispute
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Thursday 30 Jan 2025
(Sharecast News) - Shares in food manufacturer Bakkavor dipped on Thursday after Unite filed an ethical trading complaint against the company and reached out to its customers amid an ongoing dispute over pay.
Bakkavor's Unite member employees have been on strike since the early autumn to secure better rates of pay, with the union calling for change "after years of real terms pay cuts".
The union has now made a formal complaint on behalf workers at the Bakkavor Foods facility in Spalding, Lincolnshire to the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI).
Bakkavor customers, which include high street supermarkets, are signed up to the ETI and will be made aware that the company is paying what Unite called "poverty wages".
Workers, who are paid 10p above the minimum hourly wage, are demanding a pay rise of 81p an hour on average, though Bakkavor's management are said to have refused to engage in meaningful negotiations, Unite said in a statement.
"Bakkavor's utter unwillingness to negotiate and to attempt to break a lawful strike has left Unite with no choice. Not only are we telling their customers about their unethical behaviour, but we will be targeting any company that continues to do business with them," said Unite's general secretary Sharon Graham.
Bakkavor's share price was around 4% lower at 133p by the close of play in London.
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