Workers to strike at Morrisons
Staff at Morrisons’ depots will be launching strike action next week in protest at job losses related to the integration of the Morrison’s and Safeway distribution networks.
An a three-day action is planned, beginning next Friday Sept 23rd. Members of the T&G union have voted in favour of striking at three distribution depots of supermarket chain Wm Morrison, the union said on Wednesday. The GMB union, which is also balloting its members on Wednesday, said it feared 2,500 jobs were threatened by Morrison’s plans to revamp its distribution network. Morrison, which is struggling to merge its operations with those of rival Safeway, which it bought last year, said: “Since acquiring Safeway we have sold over 180 stores, and the reality is that we have more depot space and capacity than we need.”
An overtime ban after the three-day walkout will be followed by a six-day strike starting on 29 September.
Referring to the strike vote, Paul Kenny, the acting general secretary of the GMB, said: “This is a clear message from the Morrison workforce to the management of the company to listen to them and be honest about the future.”
“Now he (Sir Ken) must be prepared to meet the unions for straight talking and some serious negotiation if the strike action is to be averted.”
