Scores of workers at warehouses that supply a supermarket have taken to the town centre as they strike over a pay deal.
Staff at GXO warehouses in Symmetry Park and Penzance Drive, which supply stock to Iceland, have been on strike for several days in December, with some members of the Unite union gathering at a picket line outside the Havelock Square Iceland store on Friday afternoon.
A two-year pay deal offered by GXO has been rejected by the union. Unite claims that the deal was below inflation and that the employer has refused to offer a fair pay rise, but the company says that they have listened to workers and put forward a revised offer "which offers extra cash to all colleagues and a higher incentive payment to those who work in the freezer area".
There are approximately 700 members of staff employed at the GXO Swindon sites. 144 were reportedly on strike from Thursday, December 14 to Monday, December 18. There was then further strike action from Wednesday, December 27 to Saturday, December 30.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “GXO has made a cynical choice to suppress wages to further boost its already gigantic profits. It needs to urgently reconsider its pay offer to the very workers who generate its income.”
An Iceland spokesperson said: “Iceland Foods is working closely with GXO regarding the industrial action at their Swindon distribution centre."
Iceland and GXO believe there will be no disruption to stock during the strikes.
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