Ardagh Glass Knottingley: Forklift drivers at bottle factory that supplies Coca Cola and Heineken set to strike
Forklift drivers at a bottle factory in a Wakefield town that supplies clients including Coca Cola and Heineken are set to go on strike.
The drivers employed by Lockwood Haulage at the Ardagh Glass bottle factory in Knottingley are due to strike over union recognition, Unite has said.
They were previously employed by GXO, according to a statement issued by Unite, before transferring to Lockwood Haulage in March after the company took over the Ardagh Glass contract.
Unite has said that GXO had a longstanding recognition agreement on collective bargaining with the union but that Lockwood was “refusing to honour” this.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Lockwood Haulage is union-busting plain and simple and Unite will not tolerate it. The forklift drivers at Ardagh Glass will receive Unite’s total backing for as long as it takes.”
The workers are scheduled to strike on July 18 and 21 and industrial action “will continue to escalate until the dispute is resolved”.
A spokesperson said: “The strikes will severely impact Ardagh’s operations as the company will not be able to load bottle onto trucks for delivery to clients including Diageo, InBev, Coca Cola, Heineken and Highland Spring.”
Unite regional officer Phil Boyes said: “The disruption that will be caused to Ardagh Glass is entirely the fault of Lockwood Haulage’s disgraceful anti-union behaviour.
“GXO had a long-standing agreement with Unite and this dispute will continue to escalate until it is honoured by Lockwood.”
Lockwood Haulage and Ardagh Glass have been contacted for statements.