An employee dispute at Moy Park centres on a decision to remove workers’ shift premiums and instead be offered a “measly 3.5% pay increase in return for the loss of shift premium rates", according to Unite union.

Speaking on the issue, Unite regional officer for the agri-food sector in Northern Ireland, Sean McKeever, discussed the position some of his 3,000 union members are facing.

“Relations between the workforce and management have steadily deteriorated since June of last year when Moy Park was sold by owners, and one of the largest meat-packing companies in the world, JBS, to a company in which they are a majority shareholder, Pilgrim’s Pride of the US.”

Pilgrim’s Pride reported net income before deductions of $1.39bn for 2017.

“This is a company which is attacking workers’ pay and conditions to maximise profits for their corporate shareholders”, McKeever said.

“Pilgrim’s Pride management boasted to the markets that they would deliver $50m in annualised ‘cost savings’ from Moy Park.” This statement was met head on by Unite, warning that these savings will not come off the back of their members.

Action

“If no efforts are made to resolve the situation a strike ballot on all-out action will be opened within days”, McKeever has warned.

The company has struggled to maintain production levels due to a high staff turnover and the possibility of strike action will worsen the situation.

Moy Park’s Craigavon and Dungannon plants supply the bulk of chickens for the UK market including all the chickens sold by M&S and Waitrose, and large proportions of those sold across Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Lidl.

Read more

JBS reports fourth quarter losses

Pilgrim's Pride agrees 1bn deal to buy Moy Park