Food company facing strike ballot

Grampian Food Group employs hundreds of workers

Hundreds of workers at the Grampian Country Foods group are to be balloted on strike action over pay, pensions and agency workers.

Talks have broken down between the group and the Transport and General Workers Union, which has reinstated the strike ballot it suspended in February.

The ballot will begin on Thursday with the result expected a week later.

Grampian Country Foods said it was "disappointed" the union had decided to ballot members for industrial action.

It said discussions would continue at a local level and the company was hopeful that local resolutions will be found to prevent the threat of any industrial action.

The action would cover 2,000 staff at company sites in Scotland and around the UK.

These include operations at Cambuslang, Coupar Angus and Fairview near Edinburgh.

T&G national secretary Chris Kaufman said he was frustrated and angry no real progress had been made in the talks.

He said: "We had gone out of our way to give the company an opportunity to reach agreement with us but they had brought nothing to the party.

"They had not even agreed a common pay settlement date which would have cost them nothing.

"In the circumstances we had no option than to lift the four week suspension of the ballot with immediate effect."