Jacob's factory workers have said "enough is enough" as strike action enters its eighth week.
Staff at Jacob's Bakery in Aintree have been carrying out a series of 12-hour stoppages at the site in a fight for a fairer pay deal. But as this week marks the start of an "all out" strike action, workers say they will not stop until they get a pay deal that "reflects the current crisis".
Staff at the factory made the decision to take strike action against Pladis, who own Jacob's, after members "voted overwhelmingly in favour of both strike action and action short of a strike". Staff at the plant in Aintree have been taking limited industrial action since September, but walked out on Monday on indefinite strike. The ECHO understands the GMB Union, who represent Jacob's workers, put forward an 8.5% pay rise proposal which was "refused".
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Eamon O’Hearn, national officer of the GMB union, 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.
"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.”
GMB branch secretary Tim Collins said: "The company are spending more time and effort trying to break the strike rather than solving the strike.
"They made an announcement that our famous product, Jacobs crackers, would move 10% of production over to Portugal as a temporary measure because of the strike if a deal isn't reached but it hasn't done anything here today." He added: "This is our eighth week and from today it's all out. We've got over 650 members, male and female, young and old."
Tim and his wife both work for the company, and as they have their fourth child on the way, told the ECHO that times are tough but they are fighting for what is "right" as "we need a change". He said: "If we lose our income, we have lost it completely. My wife burst out crying and said she can't believe we are doing it, but we need the money for the kids. Everyone is struggling."
Today, workers once again gathered outside the gates, with support from passing vehicles. GMB Union banners and flags were also displayed by union members along the road as drinks and snacks handed out to members, some of who had been there from 7am.
Tim added: "The company has broken the factory and damaged relationships but the strike has brought everyone together again. We as a union have worked around the clock, we have secured enhanced payments to our members, we understand."
GMB rep Tommy Turner, who has worked there for 35 years, said: "The revisory pay offer wasn't good enough in the present climate. It's affecting everyone. We need a pay rise that reflects the cost of living.
"We have a constant battle. I'm lucky enough to be in a position where my mortgage is paid off and my wife is working, but it's going to affect some people here a lot worse. Some people are really struggling. Everyone is struggling, we should get a pay rise that reflect that, everything is rising."
Lisa Ryan, a regional organiser for GMB, today told the ECHO: "The offer that's currently on the table is a real terms pay cut for our members, this is something that they can't afford to accept."
She added the cost of living crisis is "affecting everyone" as she says it is "really unfair". She said: "Jacob's Pladis are an incredibly profitable company, they can afford to pay their members of staff more than what they are currently offering. This is a long running dispute."
The Jacob's factory on Long Lane produces millions of cream crackers each year - with more than half a billion individual crackers sold each year. The site has been operating in Aintree for more than 100 years and it was the first Jacob's factory to be built in England.
A spokesperson for Pladis UK&I 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.”
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