Striking Barbour warehouse workers at the famous jacket maker in Gateshead will be going back to work after accepting a significantly improved offer following talks at Acas, their union Unite announced yesterday (13 January).
The workers, who had been on strike following forced changes to their contracts, accepted an agreement which sees substantial increases in pay and day shift working for those with family and caring responsibilities.
Barbour had given warehouse workers a “sign or be sacked” ultimatum over changes that included the removal of the unsocial hours payment and the introduction of a requirement to work until 11 o’clock at night.
But after four days of strike action in December and one week into a four week stoppage, management agreed to talks at Acas.
Commenting, Unite regional officer Fazia Hussain-Brown said: “A majority of members have accepted this improved offer which sees increases in pay and day shift working for those with family or caring responsibilities. This hard-won outcome would not have been possible without the resolve of the workers who faced being sacked if they didn’t sign up to inferior contracts. They stood up in the face of an employer who sought to ride rough shod over their rights and won significant concessions.
“We trust that we can now move forward with the employer in a spirit of cooperation and ensure the Barbour brand continues to be a global success story.”