Unite members at Polestar's flagship gravure site headed for the ballot box last week after they unanimously voted to reject the company's previous offer.

However, as ballot papers were mailed out to staff, Polestar returned to the table and came up with another offer that has since been recommended to staff by the chapel representatives.

According to Unite, the vote on the latest three-year deal, which would run from 2009-2011, is set to conclude on Friday (18 December).

Unite national officer Vernon Robson said that, if the offer was rejected, it would almost certainly lead to a ballot.

Meanwhile, staff at Southernprint are on course to ballot for industrial action in the new year as a result of their ongoing dispute over redundancy pay, Unite regional officer Martin Hodges has said.

According to Hodges, negotiations with Southernprint's management have reached an impasse that has left staff at the site with no alternative other than the ballot box, with January being the earliest time that a vote can be practically conducted.

Polestar confirmed that a vote on the deal would conclude this Friday, but declined to comment further.