Union Unite said in a statement released today (22 August) that it has given notice of a further two weeks of strike action, meaning industrial action will now run continuously until Monday 25 September.
The strike started at 6am on 14 August after Unite had postponed previous planned strikes to hold further talks and seek an agreement.
Unite said the extension came after “the company’s failure to engage in any meaningful negotiations”.
According to the union, Cepac offered an 8% pay increase but “the offer is subject to the workers accepting substantially worse conditions including longer hours, lower overtime rates and a change in shift patterns”. The union added it was “in effect, a significant pay cut”.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Cepac’s actions are all about greed, not need. This is a company that can make a fair pay offer but is attempting to boost its profits by making its employees work longer and under worse conditions.”
Unite said the action would mean that some of the UK’s largest food and drink outlets would likely face packaging shortages, and described the situation as a “packaging crisis” for those affected.
Cepac produces corrugated packaging and serves clients including HBCP, which in turn supplies customers include Greggs, Costa, Subway, and Pret A Manger, along with C&D Foods Group, whose customers include Aldi, Tesco, Morrisons, and Asda.
Other customers include Mars, Carlsberg, Innocent Drinks, Pernod, Lidl, Sainsbury’s, and Diageo.
While Cepac had not yet commented on Unite’s latest statement at the time of writing, last week Cepac group managing director Steve Moss had told Printweek the strike action was very harmful to the business and its customers.
He said the company had continued to present alternative and improved offers to Unite who had “failed to fully and realistically engage with the company on these offers”.
“The pay awards on offer range from 8% to 17.5% dependent upon individual roles with a focus on transforming the business to become a profitable centre of excellence for sustainable packaging,” Moss said last week.
“Along with the generous pay awards offered, the company is seeking to make some minor changes to terms and conditions, including a small increase in working hours for some employees. These changes are an essential part of the plan to increase productivity to ensure future growth and investment at Darlington. It is sad that Unite seem unable to engage positively to ensure the future of the employees at the Darlington site.’’
Moss had also said the impact of industrial action would jeopardise the immediate plans to invest and secure the future of the business at Darlington, but praised customers and suppliers for being “extremely supportive” of the company and working with Cepac through the period of disruption. He had said the business would do all in its power to ensure continuity of supply.
