The Unite members at Hovis’s Avonmouth operation had been due to begin continuous industrial action on Thursday, 24 September, potentially disrupting deliveries of bread and other bakery products across the South West and into the West Midlands.
However, Unite confirmed on Thursday that the action had been called off following eleventh-hour pay talks. Drivers will now vote on the revised offer. The union has not yet disclosed its terms.
The dispute centred on an earlier 3% pay increase, which Unite described as a real-terms pay cut because the Retail Prices Index was running at 3.4%.
Workers in Avonmouth were also seeking additional benefits similar to those offered to employees at Hovis’s Belfast depot. According to Unite, the Belfast package included commission of 2p per product sold and a premium worth an additional 50% of the contracted basic hourly rate for employees working more than five designated holidays, including Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
Strike threatened regional Hovis deliveries
The Avonmouth site supplies supermarkets and other retailers across the South West and parts of the West Midlands with Hovis products including bread, burger buns and muffins.
Unite had warned that continuous industrial action by the distribution drivers could leave shops without some Hovis products. Hovis, however, said before the suspension that contingency plans were in place and that it did not expect “significant or lasting shortages”.
Pay negotiations at Avonmouth began in April. Before the latest offer was made, Hovis Bakeries said the original 3% increase was “fair and responsible” and stressed that negotiations with workers and union representatives were continuing.
The dispute comes shortly after Associated British Foods completed its acquisition of Hovis in July, bringing the business together with Allied Bakeries.
The suspension means deliveries are expected to continue while drivers consider the new proposal. Further industrial action will depend on the outcome of the ballot.
