Members of the Unite trade union who work at the Barbour warehouse in Gateshead, northern England, have voted to extend their current strike from Jan. 5 through to Jan. 30, the union said earlier this week. It follows the workers taking strike action in December as the firm planned to make changes to their contracts, which Unite said involved removing an unsocial hours payment and requiring employees to work until 11 p.m. on alternate weeks.
Fazia Hussain-Brown, Unite’s regional officer, told WWD that Barbour is asking workers to sign the new contracts or face dismissal. A representative for Barbour could not be reached for comment Friday. Hussain-Brown added that the union has proposed to Barbour that those members with caring responsibilities be allowed to work day-time shifts, and that those who work into the evening are awarded the unsocial hours payment. “Barbour management need to live up to the company’s ‘family friendly’ values and negotiate a fair deal for its workforce,” Hussain-Brown said.
According to a previous BBC report, Barbour had said that it was offering “a substantial pay increase” to compensate for the change in shift patterns.