More than 750 of the roughly 800 workers at the factory, who help produce 4,000 tonnes of firecrackers each year, say they will strike until bosses agree to negotiate on pay. The site, which has been in operation for over 100 years, was the first Jacob factory to be built in England and remains the main facility for Jacob products in the UK. The workers say they have been offered a 4.25% pay rise, well short of their initial demand for a 10% pay rise – adjusted for inflation. The GMB union, which is backing the strike, said workers had relaxed their demand to a rise of £1,750 each, equivalent to a rise of around 9% for those on lower wages and less than 7% for higher-ups. GMB said Pladis had announced it would move production to Portugal after more than a month of dispute over pay at the UK factory. Workers at Aintree first went on strike in September but have now gone on a “permanent strike” over what they say are “real terms pay cuts”. Eamon O’Hearn, GMB’s national officer, said: “These workers are rightly angry – they are putting themselves on the line to keep the company going during the pandemic. “Now they need some help to overcome the cost of living crisis. But it falls flat. In fact, more than that, bosses are taking an iconic British brand to Portugal to undermine their own workers. “This kind of bare-bones corporate greed in the run-up to Christmas is disgraceful.” Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Biscuit workers are the latest to take strike action amid an autumn of discontent as employers struggle to keep wages in line with rising inflation. Nurses, rail workers, university staff and postal workers have also been on strike in recent weeks or are expected to strike before Christmas in disputes over pay.
