Workers employed at the Jiffy packaging plant in Winsford, Cheshire have accepted a 4% pay increase backdated to 1 March following industrial action.
More than 50 employees, who are members of trade union Unite, have also maintained all of their existing terms and conditions, including their current levels of sick pay. Jiffy management has removed the fob system that monitored workers’ toilet breaks and has given further assurances over redundancies and retraining.
The workers were originally offered a 1% pay increase, or a 3% rise with reductions in sickness benefits. They wanted an 8% pay boost backdated to 1 April and an increase to 12 weeks of sick pay, along with the reinstatement of breaks and changes to bank holiday working practices.
Following the initial offer, they took part in a total of 36 days of industrial action, including two weeks in early July, several weeks in early August, and a refusal to work any overtime until the dispute was resolved.
Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite, said: “We backed our members at Jiffy in their fight for better pay and to protect their terms and conditions and because they fought hard for what was rightfully theirs, they won the dispute. They should be applauded for standing firm against this household name which tried so hard to shortchange them.”
Gary Fairclough, regional officer at Unite, added: “This pay deal would not have been possible without the hard work of our reps and the dedication of our members at Jiffy.”
Jiffy was contacted for comment prior to publication.
