Langlands Park, East Kilbride, Scotland: DHL workers for Sainsbury’s have voted for a week-long strike that will hit supplies to stores throughout Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The unit Unite says that 96% of DHL workers, on a 68 %turnout, voted to take strike action. They rejected DHL’s final pay offer which Unite says represents a real terms pay cut, with inflation soaring to hit a 40-year high of 11.8%.
Unite says that DHL is offering lower wages to workers based in Scotland when compared to other parts of the UK.
Unite represents over 300 DHL warehouse workers who are based at the distribution centre in Langlands Park, East Kilbride. The distribution centre supplies Sainsbury’s stores throughout Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Our DHL Sainsbury’s members deserve a fair pay rise and to be treated equally with their fellow workers based throughout the UK. Unite will challenge DHL and its mega-wealthy owners. We don’t do our members being treated as ‘second class’. They have their union’s full support in this fight for better jobs, pay and conditions at DHL Sainsbury’s.”
Unite regional officer Willie Thomson said: “The cost of living crisis is impacting every DHL Sainsbury’s worker equally but this billion pounds company continue to value their workers at East Kilbride less than others based throughout the UK. We will not tolerate this second-class treatment of our members. Strike action is always a last resort but our members have no option but to take a stand. The company will soon know the value of its workforce when there will be empty shelves in Sainsbury’s stores throughout Scotland and Northern Ireland. All our members are asking for is the same wage rise.”
Negotiations have taken place under the auspices of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) but Unite has now served notice of the strike action following the failure of DHL to make an improved offer in the talks.
Unite’s members will begin the week-long strike action from 06:00 hours on 13 August 2022 and continue each day up to 20 August 2022 when the action will end at 05:59 hours.
