Culina lorry driver strike could hit Avara Foods Christmas turkey deliveries: Unite

A planned strike of about 40 Culina lorry drivers over pay could lead to shortages of turkey in the run-up to Christmas, trade union Unite has warned.

The HGV drivers are planning strike action on 19 and 20 December and serve a Culina contract with Avara Foods in Hereford – which delivers poultry to the warehouses of M&S and Tesco in the West Midlands, Unite said.

Despite being in pay negotiations since April, no offer of a pay rise had been made to drivers “who have been left with little choice but to take industrial action”, it added.

Given the just-in-time nature of supermarket deliveries, the industrial action would “cause serious disruption”, the union claimed. More dates could be announced should the company refuse to come back to the negotiating table with an improved offer.

“Our members do a skilled and vital job ensuring food gets from A to B on time,” said Unite regional officer Jason Richards.

“But they are not being valued by their employer, who has refused to offer any pay increase whatsoever. This Scrooge-like behaviour is unacceptable and will see our members head to the picket line later this month.”

A senior Culina spokesperson said: ”We are in on-going dialogue with the Unite union representatives, to reach a mutually agreeable solution to the proposed strike action. We have put in place detailed contingency plans across the business and are confident that our customer, stores, suppliers, and partners will not be affected.” 

A spokesman for Avara Foods said: “We understand that discussions between Culina and Unite are ongoing and we hope they will reach a mutually agreeable solution. We expect to meet our Christmas commitments for turkey in full.”