Morrisons has averted a potentially disruptive strike planned by drivers at a distribution centre in the North West for this weekend.
A 48-hour walkout had been called for 5am on Friday (25 July)by Unite, which represents 200 Morrisons drivers at the Gadbrook Park site in Northwich, near Manchester. Unite was unhappy about a number of terms included in new contracts for the drivers, which it claimed were less favourable than those received by agency staff employed at the site.
But at 11th hour talks on Tuesday, Morrisons and Unite came to an agreement. “An issue between Unite and Morrisons, relating to changes at Gadbrook, has now been resolved and no industrial action will take place,” said a Morrisons spokesman.
A spokesman for Unite said the dispute had arisen because Morrisons was “looking to reduce guarantees of hours. We were particularly concerned over a term that stated Morrisons would be able to roster work as per the needs of the business.”
Staff had entered a 45-day consultation, but at the talks on Tuesday, Morrisons and Unite agreed to remove the disputed term. “We reached agreement with Morrisons for the new contract that we were happy to take to our members and they accepted it,” said the Unite spokesman.
The Grocer understands prior to the strike being cancelled, staff at stores were told to make contingency plans, such as placing larger orders.
In May, Morrisons revealed plans to cut 100 jobs at its RDC in Wakefield. It said it was making changes that would improve efficiency, responsiveness and the service it provides to stores. It is also coming to the end of a 45-day consultation with in-store department managers and supervisors that could result in 2,600 redundancies.
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