A STRIKING worker at a ready meal manufacturing plant has slammed the company over fire-and-rehire proposals, with claims it would leave staff £2,000 a year worse off. 

More than 500 workers at the Oscar Mayer plant on Wrexham Industrial Estate are involved in ongoing strike action over the controversial scheme. 

Unite the union has said staff have been given an ultimatum that they are either fired, or sign new contracts that involve the removal of some paid breaks, and eradicate any enhanced payments and days off in lieu for working bank holidays.

The union has branded fire-and-rehire as "despicable", with strike action taking place from September 12 to October 10. Industrial action will escalate if the dispute is not resolved, Unite said.

Oscar Mayer is one of the major ready meal manufacturers in the UK and supplies large quantities of its products to Tesco, ASDA, Greggs, Aldi, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and the Co-op.

The company has said it does not take the proposals "lightly", but that they are necessary for the "long-term sustainability of our business and the jobs we provide".

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A worker at Oscar Mayer, wishing to remain anonymous, told the Leader: "I am one of several hundred employees of Oscar Mayer, Wrexham who have taken strike action because the company has decided to take away our paid breaks, reduce payments on public holidays. The company has threatened us with dismissal and re-employment without the right to redundancy pay if we do not sign new contracts.

"I have been working at Oscar Mayer for a few years now. The changes proposed by the company will cause me to lose over £2,000 per year. I work in conditions where the temperature exceeds 30 degrees. Currently we have three paid breaks of 26 minutes.

"After the changes, I will only have two unpaid breaks of 26 minutes per 12 hours. Working on a bank holiday will be treated as a normal day. This will significantly affect my financial situation because the cost of living has increased since April and autumn and winter are approaching. I want to earn a decent salary for my hard work."

The worker added: "There are people who work in low temperatures on the production line and are also worried that they will not be able to continue working. It is a pity that the company decided to punish us for the mistakes of directors and managers."

An Oscar Mayer spokesperson previously said: "In May 2024 we put a number of proposals to our colleagues in our Wrexham factory around changing some paid breaks to unpaid for weekly paid colleagues, and the removal of enhanced rates on bank holidays and the provision of time off in lieu for all colleagues.

"These proposals are not made lightly, but we believe are necessary to protect the long-term sustainability of our business and the jobs we provide in the local community. These changes would put us in line with most other businesses in our sector and similar businesses in the local area. 

“The proposals have been subject to a full and proper consultation process with our colleagues, which is on-going, and we have engaged fully with Unite during this process. The fact that we have agreed to a number of alternative proposals put forward by colleagues underscores the fact that there has been effective dialogue throughout, and that consultation has been constructive."

They added: “We remain committed to an ongoing dialogue as we work to reach agreement with our colleagues.”