Birmingham, UK: Around 500 Sainsbury’s lorry drivers based in Essex and Birmingham are being balloted for strike action. The dispute centres on the drivers losing certain employee benefits when their jobs transfer to Wincanton at the end of April.
The workers, members of the Unite union, are currently employed directly by Sainsbury’s. The transfer to Wincanton would result in the workers no longer being eligible for benefits they receive as Sainsbury’s employees. These include a 15% Sainsbury’s discount card worth up to £1,600 a year in savings, as well as share save and incentive schemes.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Sainsbury’s is attempting to outsource its staff on the cheap. Meanwhile, its profits continue to grow. This is corporate greed, pure and simple. Sainsbury’s lorry drivers have their union’s total support.”
The ballot for strike action opens today (26 February) and closes on 11 March. Unite says any industrial action will “cause severe disruption to deliveries from the distribution centres in Coleshill, Birmingham and Waltham Abbey, Essex to Sainsbury’s stores”.
Unite national officer Matt Draper said: “There is still time to resolve this dispute before it escalates. But for that to happen, Sainsbury must get back around the negotiating table and put forward a deal our members can accept.”
