Hovis workers are striking in Belfast, photo by Urban Wired/CC

Hovis workers are striking in Belfast, photo by Urban Wired/CC   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Hovis workers in the Bakers and Unite trade unions have voted for an all-out strike in Belfast, Northern Ireland for better pay.

Picket lines will start at one minute past midnight on 24 January after an 88% majority voted for strike action to win their 5.1% pay claim.

Unite says that after deducting shift premiums, overtime and bonuses, Hovis workers receive a basic wage 90p below the national minimum wage threshold.

Unite officer Sean McKeever says: “Unfortunately management has completely failed to address legitimate pay expectations in recent pay talks. Bosses refused to meet the pay claim and instead offered a meagre 23p an hour uplift (3.2%). In effect, bosses are forcing workers to the gate for less than 14p an hour in terms of a differential. This is both scandalous and an insult to the workforce.

“Workers are determined to secure themselves fair pay.”