Weetabix Usdaw members to take strike action over pay dispute at Burton Latimer and Corby factories

Strike action will hit the Burton Latimer and Corby factories with walkouts on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

Usdaw members were balloted in March and have been in negotiations with the company to reach a settlement. Usdaw members work mainly on factory production lines producing the iconic cereal brands.

Gavin Dadley, Usdaw regional secretary, said: “The ballot for industrial action closed on March 17, 2025, this ballot gave the union a mandate for taking industrial action.

"Subsequently, the union has been in negotiations with the company to reach a settlement offer that we could recommend to our members for acceptance.

“However, these negotiations have not achieved an offer that could be recommended to the membership. In light of this, we have decided to notify the company of our intention to commence industrial action from Tuesday, April 29, 2025 at the Burton Latimer and Corby sites.

“We remain firmly committed to arriving at a jointly negotiated settlement to end this dispute.”

It is understood the dispute surrounds the Weetabix share scheme issued to the workforce.

Members of Usdaw previously walked out in 2021 in a fight for ‘fair pay’. Members of the union who worked on the Alpen cereal bar line at the Burton Latimer plant had rejected a company offer.

Usdaw is the UK's fifth biggest trade union with around 360,000 members.

Weetabix engineers who were members of the union Unite also took industrial action in 2021.

About 80 Weetabix engineers went on strike two days a week over a 'fire and rehire' move.

A spokesperson for Weetabix Food Company said: “We are naturally disappointed by Usdaw's decision to pursue industrial action but respect the voice of our production operators and their representatives.

"As a business we continue to invest in our people and offer competitive salaries. We are committed to an equitable solution that is fair to our wider workforce of 1,200 and remain keen to continue ongoing negotiations with our team and their representatives."