HGV drivers and shunters at a Müller dairy factory in Gloucestershire have started an 11-day walk out amid a dispute over rotas with the company.
Around 70 Unite the Union members at the site in Stonehouse, who are responsible for delivering milk and other dairy products to M&S and Waitrose, will strike from October 19 to October 29.
Unite said Müller is seeking to impose a change to a five-days-on-two-days-off rota system to require all drivers to work at least one day every weekend. The union claims the move is a breach of an agreement the company signed earlier in the year year.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It’s very simple; Muller signed an agreement with our members and they should stick to it. Unite will not accept attacks on our members’ jobs, pay or conditions. Mullers’ Gloucestershire workforce has the union’s full backing in this dispute.”
Müller has denied the strikes will impact deliveries. A spokesperson for the company said: "These rota changes were implemented following consultation and agreement with joint trade unions last year.
“The agreement aims to transition those on legacy five-days-working-three-days-off patterns to align with the five-days-working-two-days-off pattern which most full-time employees in the UK are familiar with.
“Following the introduction of the rota changes, which are not related to pay, a small number of logistics employees at our Severnside site voted in favour of industrial action. It is important to stress that we have thorough plans in place to ensure deliveries of dairy products to our customers will not be affected.”
In September, workers at the factory went on strike for six days over the dispute.
Unite regional officer Amy Roberts has called on Müller to abide by the agreement it signed. She added: "[The company needs to] drop these rota changes, which will negatively impact our members’ quality of life.”
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