Strike action looms as factory staff reject offer

Hundreds of workers at a Falkirk food factory which supplies supermarkets including Waitrose and Marks & Spencer are facing industrial action after union members rejected a below inflation pay offer from their employer.

More than 90 per cent of members of the GMB Union at Bo’ness voted to reject a 2.2 per cent rise on the basic rate of pay.

The Bo’ness site, which employs around 1,300 people, is a subsidiary of the international food manufacturing giant Bakkavor, and prepares high-quality salads and ready meals for retail giants including M&S, Tesco and Waitrose.

GMB senior organiser Drew Duffy said: “This is a resounding rejection of Bakkavor’s below inflation pay offer by GMB members and it really shouldn’t come as a surprise to the management.”