Workers at Flahavan’s, the leading oat producer behind well-known porridge, cereal and biscuit brands, have decided “to ballot for industrial action” at the company’s plant in Co Waterford.
The union that represents the majority of workers at Flahavan’s said this was a result of the company’s “unilateral attempt to tie a new pay deal to a flexibility arrangement” that it has “neither seen nor negotiated”.
Unite’s Ireland regional officer, Eoin Drummey, told The Irish Times that 76 of Flahavan’s near 90 workers within the union attended an extraordinary general meeting it organised over the weekend.
There, they “unanimously rejected” the “flexibility arrangement” proposed by their employer, Drummey said. However, he was unable to provide details of the arrangement as he said the union had yet to see its contents.
The vote to strike is to open on Wednesday and will close on August 21st.
This follows five to six months of pay negotiations between Flahavan’s and Unite, he added, in which his side sought a pay increase over the next 18 months and pay parity between bakery staff and mill workers.
The company “sought to make an exception to the agreement we had come to” with the introduction of the flexibility arrangement, Drummey said.
Responding to queries from The Irish Times, a spokesperson for Flahavan’s said it was “surprised and disappointed by the decision” from its staff. The company “greatly values our employees and the positive working relationship we have built together over many years”, she said.
“We have been engaged in discussions with our employees and their representatives regarding a new pay agreement and associated working arrangements, and remain committed to reaching a fair and sustainable agreement that supports both our employees and the long-term success of the business,” the spokeswoman said.
“While it would not be appropriate to comment on the detail of ongoing discussions, we believe the outstanding matters can be resolved through continued constructive engagement and the established industrial relations process.”
Drummey said the union “remains available to engage with the company if it withdraws its insistence that the acceptance of new flexibility forms part of the new pay deal”, he said.
“This isn’t about Unite seeking out confrontation, this is about Flahavan’s conducting proper industrial relations,” he said. “If the company wants a flexible arrangement, then it must be negotiated with the union.
“What members will not accept is a previously unseen and unnegotiated agreement introduced unilaterally by the company tied to a pay deal. We have made our position very clear, it is now up to the company to decide what happens next.”
Unite’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Our members’ dedication and expertise have made Flahavan’s a household name throughout Ireland.
“It beggars belief that it has chosen to tear up normal industrial relations procedures and demand workers sign up to an unseen and unagreed policy.”