Staff at Saica Paper’s Partington mill in Carrington, Manchester have begun a programme of strike action following a dispute over pay.
A total of 40 staff, who are members of the Unite union, voted in favour of striking at the mill that uses 100% recycled fibre to produce corrugated cardboard.
An initial series of six 12 and 24 hour strikes have been called. The first took place on 21 April, and will be followed by 25 and 29 April, then 1, 5 and 8 May.
Workers recorded a 97% vote in favour of strike action after rejecting a 9.5% pay increase. However, on average workers would have received a 6.5% permanent pay rise with the rest being a one-off lump sum payment.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Saica Paper is a highly profitable company which could and should be rewarding its workers with a fair pay increase. It is the hard work of our members which has made the company successful and it is only right that they receive a fair share of the company’s profits.
“Unite is totally focused on the jobs, pay and conditions of its members and the workers at Saica Paper will receive the union’s unswerving support.”
A spokesperson for SAICA told the Manchester Evening News: “We are aware of the planned industrial action. We have taken steps to build up stock levels in advance of the planned days of action and are confident that we will be able to continue production.
“We will be liaising with clients as appropriate over the coming days to ensure we minimise disruption.”
