Ryan FowlerHundreds of Morrisons employees, represented by the union Unite, are poised to vote on potential strike action in response to pension changes imposed by the supermarket chain. The modifications, which require workers to increase their pension contributions while Morrisons reduces its own, are projected to leave employees approximately £500 worse off annually.
The dispute involves around 1,000 Unite members, including warehouse stock controllers, cooks, canteen staff, and administrators, based in Cheshire and Wakefield. These workers play crucial roles in logistics and supply chain operations for nearly 500 Morrisons stores.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham stated: “Unite is focussed on our members’ jobs, pay, and conditions and these unmerited changes to workers’ pensions will leave our members worse off every month.” She also criticized the company’s profit motives amid a cost-of-living crisis, describing it as “flagrant profiteering.”
Additional grievances cited by the workers include a new and unpopular pick rate requirement, the removal of a service award, enforced job role changes, and alleged failures in following absence policies.
Unite national officer Adrian Jones commented: “Morrisons need to see sense and reverse these changes or they will see the anger of our members on the picket line.”
The ballot for strike action opened today, 18 April, and will close on 9 May. Should the workers vote in favor and no concessions are made by Morrisons, industrial action is expected to occur this spring and summer, potentially impacting supermarket operations.
