Strike Looms At UK's Leading Poultry Processor

Trade union Unite is to ballot its members at three sites in the UK's leading poultry processing company, 2 Sisters Food Group, for industrial action over low pay.

The Midlands processing plants receives birds cutting and packing from 2 Sisters primary sites in Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Devon and Scotland. The company currently processes about three million birds a week.

The union says that if Unite members vote to strike it would jeopardise the supply of poultry products to all of the major supermarket suppliers, and inevitably hit supermarket shelves over Christmas.

Unite added that 2 Sisters has proposed an offer of £214 per week.

This is just eight pence an hour above the minimum wage for staff, who work a 37.5 hour week usually on unsociable hours, split between morning and afternoon shifts, the union said.

Unite said it was a shocking level of payment proposed by the company, which does not reflect the hard work the staff put in.