Pickets start month-long strike

A month-long strike began on Boxing Day at 200 Magnet kitchen makers' stores across Britain.

The strike committee at Magnet claims the company has sacked workers and not offered pay rises to remaining staff.

Protesters and pickets from four unions, TGWU, GMB, AEEU and UCATT, are picketing the stores until sales finish at the end of January.

The Committee Secretary, Ian Crammond, said workers had been unfairly sacked from the company's Darlington factory 16 months ago.

Industrial action followed the redundancies and led to the formation of the committee.

Mr Crammond claimed the company had said it had shrugged off the effects of the action in Darlington but announced a £1.6 million loss from the factory between October 1996 and September this year.

He said Magnet had sacked 350 workers who went on strike, after proper ballots, to protest that 40% of their colleagues were not being offered a pay rise after a three-year pay freeze.

The company's Chief Executive, David Williams, said: "The company regrets any inconvenience to customers caused by the picketing but points out that despite sporadic action of this kind throughout 1997, sales have increased by 15% this year, which is a clear indication of customers' continuing support.

"The kitchen factory at Darlington has a new and energetic workforce which has succeeded in raising productivity levels by 15% compared to pre-dispute levels."