Employees at flour and bread brand Hovis in Northern Ireland have accepted a 13.5% two-year pay deal, with 75% voting to end the pay dispute.
Members of trade union Unite working at Hovis voted by a margin of three to one to accept a higher pay increase offered by the business, with the deal set to last two calendar years.
Last month, more than 95% of workers voted to strike at the brand’s Belfast bakery on Sunday 5 March from 6am, but action was suspended for seven days after an improved pay deal was offered the evening before it was due to begin.
According to Unite, if members had rejected the deal, continuous strike action would have been scheduled from the morning of Sunday 12 March. Any production shutdown at Hovis’ Belfast production site would have been likely to impact bread availability across Northern Ireland.
A Hovis spokesperson said: “We are pleased to have found a resolution that is acceptable to all sides which is a pay increase of 13.15% over two years. Our people are our greatest asset and this offer reflects our aim to retain and attract the high calibre of people that we are proud to have working in our business.”
Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite, added: “Yet again members of Unite have secured a significant improvement to their pay through their collective action. Hovis can well afford to increase the pay of their workforce; they have enjoyed huge success in recent years posting pre-tax profits of almost £50 million in 2021.
“Why should workers pay the price for the current economic crisis, when it was definitely not of their making? Our members know that they have the full backing of this union when they organise to defend jobs, pay and conditions.”
Sean McKeever, regional officer for the workforce at Unite, said: “This success occurs after a number of years of successful outcomes to pay disputes at Hovis, which has lifted pay at this employer substantially over the period.”