Unite takes Bakkavor dispute to Rejkjavik

Unite activists and members have taken the fight for fair pay at food processing company Bakkavor to Reykjavik, Iceland this week (6 November) taking the opportunity to explain the industrial dispute to comrades from Efling, one of the largest unions in Iceland.

Bakkavor’s biggest shareholders are Icelandic “tycoons” Agust and Lydur Gudmundsson. Lydur Gudmundsson was previously convicted for financial fraud against the people of Iceland. Now he and his brother are making millions on the backs of poorly paid workers in the UK.

Taking the message that workers deserve better than poverty pay to Reykjavik, protests took place across the Icelandic capital including at the homes of the Gudmundsson brothers, at the headquarters of their holding company and at the Icelandic film school owned by Agust. 

Over 700 workers are currently taking part in continuous strike action at the Bakkavor production plant in Spalding, Lincolnshire after years of real terms pay cuts.

Together the Gudmundsson brothers own half of Bakkavor shares and have huge power over the company. Bakkavor made £94 million in profit last year. In the last five years it has paid out £158 million to shareholders. But most workers in Spalding are only paid £11.54 an hour, just 10 pence above the minimum wage.

The workers have seen their pay decrease by 10.6 per cent in real terms over the last three year. Unite members are demanding a pay rise of 81 pence an hour on average. This amounts to just two per cent of Bakkavor’s profits. 

Unite representatives were joined by comrades from the Efling Icelandic trade union as they made noisy protests, handed out leaflets and projected images onto the sides of buildings.

Unite representatives met with Viðar þorsteinsson, director of the education and Social Department of Elfing, along with Karl Héðinn Kristjánsson to discuss the situation for Bakkavor employees in the UK.

Efling said it was “pleased to be able to support the struggle of our sister unions in neighbouring countries, especially when it comes to Icelandic employers.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Bakkavor is an incredibly profitable company and has paid out millions to the Gudmundsson brothers and other shareholders. This is a company that is fully able to make its workers a fair pay rise but is cynically choosing not to.

“Lydur and Agust Gudmundsson now need to get Bakkavor’s management round the negotiating table with a decent pay offer for our members. Until that happens there will be no hiding place for the company and its stakeholders.”

Some Bakkavor workers now depend on food banks to feed themselves and their families, due to low pay. Yet Bakkavor CEO Mike Edwards is paid £2.4million – 101 times more than his workers.

Unite organiser Clare Peden added: “We have come to Iceland to demand the Gudmundsson brothers  use their influence to secure fair pay for Bakkavor workers in Lincolnshire.

“Unite members in Spalding feed Britain. They work long shifts, in tough conditions, and just want to be able to earn a living and support their families. Unite will not relent in our dispute with the company.”

The workforce, produce meals, soups, dips, salads, desserts, pizzas and breads for the company’s customers including Tesco, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose.

By Keith Hatch