Campaign news

Hovis Pickets Pile on the Pressure!

17th September 2013

Hovis Pickets Pile on the Pressure!

Bakers’ Union members striking against the use of agency workers on zero hours contracts at the Hovis Bakery in Wigan piled pressure on the company in the early hours of this morning with some of the most effective picketing of their campaign so far.

Around 60 to 70 pickets managed to delay trucks, containing only half their usual amount of Hovis bread and crumpets, leaving Premier Food’s Cale Lane Bakery for more than two hours. By 5.00am, in fact, only seven of the company’s fleet of over three dozen trucks, all driven by managers, and which have all usually left the bakery by 3.00am had been able to get out. The action of the pickets was only thwarted when police reinforcements, including police dogs were brought in to help break the blockade and three arrests were made.

Shortly afterwards, however, it was reported that half of the company’s United Road Transport Union member drivers had decided to take the day off in response to the action of the BFAWU pickets, dealing a further blow to the Wigan Bakery’s management.

A similar action has been called for on Wednesday morning from 2.00am onwards. The second week of a rolling programme of strike action by Bakers’ Union members is scheduled to finish at 6.00am and workers at there say they’d like to end it with a bang.

They will be out on strike again from 6.00am on Wednesday 25th September. You can text message your support direct to the picket line using this no. 07943 895970