G4S strike prompts fears of festive cash shortages at banks and shops

More than 1,000 security workers who deliver cash and coins to some of the UK’s biggest banks and supermarkets have voted to strike in December, raising the prospect of potential cash shortages in the run-up to Christmas.

The 48-hour strike by 1,156 members of the GMB union who work for the security company G4S is due to take place from 3am on 5 December, after a 97% vote in favour of industrial action in a dispute over pay. However, only 665 workers voted in the ballot, a turnout of 58%.

A GMB spokesperson said the union also conducted a consultation on the pay deal at the same time, which may have resulted in members sending only one ballot paper back.

G4S Cash Solutions clients include Barclays, Lloyds and HSBC as well as retailers including Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Morrisons and Boots, and the pub chains Wetherspoon’s and Greene King.

G4S Cash Solutions, part of Allied International, initially offered members a part-pay freeze, and then proposed a 4.5% pay rise, as well as a lump-sum bonus based on contracted hours to help them get through the cost of living

crisis.

The GMB is asking the company for a 15% pay rise on behalf of its members to take account of soaring inflation, which was 11.1% in October.

“Despite the huge cost of living impact members have experienced this year, the company offer of 4.5% is only marginally more than your last pay award of 4%,” the GMB said in a notice to members posted on its website. “Your NNC [national negotiating council] has made clear to the company that all its offers have represented a massive real pay cut for members.”

A G4S spokesperson said: “We are continuing to engage with our employees and their union and hope to reach an amicable agreement without the need for industrial action.

“In the event of a strike, we have contingency plans to minimise disruption to cash services across the country.”

The last time G4S Cash Solutions workers voted to strike, the Bank of England is thought to have pressured the company into improving their offer because the Bank’s insurer demanded minimum staffing levels, the union said.

Eamon O’Hearn, the GMB national officer, said: “There are low-paid workers doing a dangerous job, transferring the cash so many of us still rely on every day.

“All they are asking for is a wage they can live on, that they can feed their families on, that they can treat their children this Christmas on. G4S Cash staff provide an absolutely vital service. If they walk out, we can [expect] genuine cash shortages over the festive period.”