Improved pay offer made by management two days before all-out strike action was set to commence after workforce voted 88 percent for industrial action

Sean McKeever, Regional Officer, welcomed his members’ success in winning a significant uplift to their pay offer and said the result demonstrated the importance of union organising power and readiness to take strike action.

“I’m very proud of our members at Hovis who have demonstrated the power of a union through their willingness to take all-out strike action in pursuit of a fair pay settlement.

“The workforce voted by 88 percent to take industrial action rejecting a pay offer which was only one percent above the current inflation rate. Two days before the commencement of all-out strike action, bosses reverted with a four percent pay offer which they have now voted to accept.

“This is an inflation-busting pay increase – which will make a real difference to the lives of our members in Hovis and their families. 

“This pay-out puts employers elsewhere in the food and drink industry on notice. Workers in Unite are organising to secure pay improvement across the sector”, Mr McKeever concluded.