The Scottish Sun said it had been told by a Unite source that there could be a 24-hour strike held “across the country” this month if a pay deal cannot be reached, and if members of the union working at the paper-based and corrugated packaging manufacturer agree.
The newspaper reported last week that negotiations between Unite officials and bosses at Smurfit Kappa were due to continue Friday. Unite confirmed to Printweek that it was in pay talks on Friday afternoon.
The Scottish Sun quoted its Unite source: “The firm keeps boasting about record profits, so it’s about time its hard-working workforce got rewarded.”
They added the strike “would cause a lot of problems” and “could put thousands of deliveries at risk” but that it “shows the strength of the feeling among people”.
Smurfit Kappa said it was not commenting when approached by Printweek.
Printweek understands that an improved offer has been made that will be put to senior reps later this week. However, in the meantime a notice of strike action will be served in case the offer is not accepted.
Last week Smurfit Kappa Group released a trading update for the nine months to 30 September 2022, which showed revenue growth of 33% to €9.72bn (£8.51bn) in the period, and EBITDA growth of 43% to €1.77bn, with an EBITDA margin of 18.2%.
The group’s share price has climbed by 6.2% in the last five days, and stood at 3,230p late on Friday.
This summer, Smurfit Kappa completed an €11.5m investment in sustainability at its Zülpich Paper Mill in Germany.
Earlier in the year it had unveiled a water-resistant sustainable paper and became the world’s first packaging company to become vegan certified.
The FTSE 100 company employs around 48,000 staff in over 350 production sites across 36 countries. Its website lists over 50 UK locations, encompassing production sites, offices, recycling plants and more. Its total UK headcount is unclear.
Unite told Printweek that some of its members are also involved in strike action at DS Smith, where it was reported earlier this week that nearly 1,000 members of union GMB are balloting for industrial action over a real terms pay cut. The union confirmed it was also in pay talks with DS Smith on Friday afternoon.
