Shoppers could see supermarket shelves stripped of Twiglets, Jaffa Cakes and a whole host of other festive snacks in the run-up to Christmas as workers at the Jacob’s cream cracker factory take part in an “indefinite” walkout.
According to GMB Union, which represents staff at the Aintree plant, Jacob’s workers have been taking “limited industrial action” since September in a dispute over pay.
From Monday, however, it was announced that factory staff – who also manufacture Club bars, Mini Cheddars and 14,000 tons of cream crackers each year – would strike every single day until bosses agreed to negotiate.
The union previously said that the 751 members at Aintree had been taking industrial action since early September “in pursuit of a pay award that meets their claim for cost of living.”
Piling more concern on its already stretched Aintree workers, Pladis, which owns more than 75 brands including Jacob’s, announced they were shifting UK production to Portugal to ensure they meet demand in the coming months.
The Telegraph reports that the move will see the beloved British brand’s products be made abroad for the first time since the factory opened in 1914.
Eamon O’Hearn, GMB National Officer, said: “These workers are rightly angry – they put themselves on the line to keep the company going during the pandemic.
“Now they need some help to get them through the cost of living crisis. But it’s falling on deaf ears. In fact, more than that, bosses are shifting an iconic British brand to Portugal to undermine their own workers.
“This kind of naked corporate greed in the run up to Christmas is disgraceful.
“Jacob’s workers will now be on strike 24 hours a day, seven days a week until the company comes back to the negotiating table.”
A spokesman for Pladis said: “We regret that the GMB has decided to take this course of action, despite all of the efforts we have made to reach an agreement with the union. However, we want to reiterate that our door remains open to the GMB for further discussions with their representatives.
“To ensure we can continue to meet demand in the coming months, we will temporarily be moving some production of Jacob’s Cream Crackers to a third-party partner in Portugal.”
This latest strike action comes just days after nurses voted to stage strikes across the UK for the first time in their history in pursuit of a better pay deal.
Rail staff have also been engaged in several walkouts over the last five months in their pay dispute, alongside Royal Mail workers, university staff and civil servants running public services in pursuit of better pay conditions.
