Usdaw confirm new strike dates in Unilever pension dispute

Date: 13 January 2012

Usdaw members employed by Unilever at its manufacturing sites in Leeds and Port Sunlight will strike for a second time next week in protest at the company's plan to scrap its final salary pension scheme.

Usdaw has confirmed that its members will take part in a second round of 24 hour stoppages from 6.00pm on Friday 20 January at Port Sunlight and from 7.00pm the same day at Seacroft in Leeds. A small group of Usdaw members who work at Unilever's Port Sunlight Research and Development facility will also be taking strike action, alongside colleagues from Unite, from midnight on Wednesday 18 January 2012.

Members of all Unions who represent workers at 12 Unilever sites will be taking at least one day's strike action between 17 and 29 January. The action was agreed by Reps from Usdaw, Unite and the GMB, following Unilever's refusal to reconvene talks on the future of the pension scheme, despite the first wave of strikes in early December.

David Johnson, Usdaw National Officer said:

"Unilever's refusal to return to the negotiating table is increasing the anger of our members and further strike action is inevitable unless talks on the future of the pension scheme resume."

"Our members are pushing for longer and more frequent industrial action to increase the financial and operational impact on the company. Unilever can avoid this situation and indeed next week's strikes by agreeing to reconvene negotiations."

"Usdaw remain ready to talk in or through whatever forum is necessary to avoid further escalation of what is already a very damaging dispute for Unilever."

Notes for Editors:

1. Usdaw represents workers at Unilever's manufacturing facilities at Port Sunlight in Wirral and Seacroft in Leeds. The Union also has a small number of members at Unilever's Research and Development facility in Port Sunlight and at the company's factory in Warrington.
2. Unilever closed its final salary pension scheme to new members in 2008, but promised the 5,000 existing members that this would make the scheme safe for the future. Despite this promise, Unilever announced in May 2011 that it intended to close the scheme altogether and replace it with a career average scheme that will mean workers losing an average of 20% of their projected retirement income with some losing up to 40%.
3. In November 2011, Usdaw members voted by a margin of 5 to 1 in favour of industrial action in protest at Unilever's proposals. The first 24 hour strikes took place on 8 and 9 December 2011.
4. Usdaw (the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fourth biggest and fastest growing trade union with over 410,000 members. Membership has increased by more than 17% in the last five years and by nearly a third in the last decade. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.