LONG SUTTON, England — Some 300 members of Unite, the union at the Princes food company here, walked out Jan. 7. Princes produces canned fish, meat, vegetables, soft drinks and pickles.
Their action was part of a series of strikes, two or three days a week, joined by over 800 union members, including at the company’s other sites in Bradford, Cardiff, Glasgow and Wisbech. The workers are fighting for better pay.
Eighty strikers picketed four points around the Long Sutton plant Jan. 14 in an effort to dissuade several dozen nonunion, agency and union members from breaking the strike.
The pickets were joined by 20 fellow Unite members, who have been on strike at the nearby Bakkavor plant in Spalding for nearly four months over pay and union rights. The strikers cheered the Bakkavor workers for their act of solidarity.
Paul Russell, Unite’s senior shop steward at Princes, told the Bakkavor strikers that union members at Long Sutton would reciprocate the solidarity.
“This is the first strike since I’ve worked here,” Russell told the Militant. He has been at the plant for 19 years. Workers were originally offered “4%, plus add-ons,” he said.
When negotiations first began, Princes was owned by the Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi. The plant was taken over by the Italian food group Newlat Food SpA last July. Union leaders told the new owners they would recommend rejection of the 4% offer. The bosses responded by cutting the offer to 3%.
“They never thought we’d walk out,” deputy shop steward Pat Hickey said.
“To be honest, I could live with the 3%,” striker Trevor Price added. “I’ve only got three more years before I retire and I’ve paid off my bills. But this isn’t about me. It’s about all workers having decent wages and a decent union.”
Forty years ago, Price said, he was a coal miner living in Sheffield and a participant in the yearlong National Union of Mineworkers strike against pit closures, a struggle that inspired union solidarity from around the world.
“That’s how I ended up here,” Price said. “Broke at the strike’s end, I ended up picking fruit and vegetables in Lincolnshire. Four vans would pick us up and drive an hour plus. We’d work eight to 10 hours in the fields for very poor money. At the end of the shift we’d get picked up and driven home. And we each had to pay 2 pounds [$2.45] diesel money! I ended up moving.”
“This strike isn’t just about pay,” Russell said. “It’s about the future, including collective bargaining by a strong union. We’re up against a major company.” A further strike is planned here Jan. 28-31. Messages of support to the Princes strikers can be sent to: Paul.Travers@unitetheunion.org.