Factory workers at Princes Food in Glasgow, Bradford, Wisbech, Long Sutton, and Cardiff will walk out this month.
It comes after Unite the Union stated that industrial action was set to escalate after the company reportedly ‘failed to provide an improved pay offer’.
Now, Angelo Mastrolia, chairman of the board of directors at Princes, has said he is ‘disappointed’ with the union’s approach and is calling for a resolution.
He said: “It has become increasingly clear that resolving this dispute with Unite is becoming more difficult.
“We have engaged in discussions with the Union for several months, proposing an above-inflation pay rise and offering to backdate this to April 2024 during the negotiations.
“However, Unite has informed us that they would not permit the company to proceed in this manner.
“The board of directors of Princes and I fully understand our responsibility to care for our colleagues, but we have an equal obligation to ensure the long-term sustainability of Princes by focusing on cost management and being a competitive supplier in the UK’s food and beverage sector.”
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Unite says that its members are walking out due to previous pay offers having reportedly been revoked by Princes Foods’ new owners Newlat S.P.A.
Line operatives and engineers are said to have been offered between a four and seven per cent pay rise, dependent on salary, by previous owner Mitsubishi.
However, after the company was taken over Unite claims this offer was withdrawn and workers were instead offered a three per cent pay rise.
It is understood that Princes believes the three per cent pay increase is ‘fair and reasonable’.
Engineers at the factory in Shieldhall in Glasgow’s Southside will strike from January 6 to January 8 and January 13 to January 15.
Unite claims industrial action is ‘likely to lead to shortages’ of Princes’ products in supermarkets and shops.
However, the company has stated that contingency plans are in place and there are currently ‘no significant impacts on its product availability’.
Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “Newlat needs to get back round the negotiating table before its customers discover they won’t have any products on their shelves.
“Our members work in back-breaking roles on low pay and want a fair slice of the pie. Newlat makes 20 per cent of all its revenues in the UK and is making money off the backs of these workers.
“Yet they want to shortchange our members. Unite won’t stand for such behaviour and back our members 100 per cent.”
Princes Foods makes a variety of household name products such as Branston and Crosse & Blackwell as well as their own brand tins and jars of meat and fish.
