DS Smith workers back industrial action over pay

Nearly 1,000 workers at corrugated packaging group DS Smith have voted for strike action in a row over pay, according to the GMB union.

DS Smith makes packaging for Amazon, Chivas, Princes, Seabrooks crisps, Brewdog, PepsiCo and KP snacks.

GMB said 93% of workers at the company voted in favour of industrial action. Sites in Louth, Lincolnshire, Featherstone, in Yorkshire, Clay Cross, in Derbyshire, Devizes, in Wiltshire and Livingston, in Scotland could take part in the strike, as early as the end of the month.

DS Smith has offered a 3% consolidated increase plus a non-consolidated payment of £760 for 2022-23 which, with inflation at 12.3%, represents a massive real terms pay cut for members, the union said.

GMB National Officer Eamon O’Hearn said: "DS Smith members worked through the pandemic, helping keep the company afloat through troubled times.

"It turns out that the company was hugely profitable during the pandemic, now they need to company to step up and help them through the cost-of-living crisis.

"A strike at DS Smith could have serious implications across a range of household names -not least Amazon which gets packaging from the company.

"DS Smith can afford to do better - they need to table a serious offer that respects the contribution of our members, to nip this industrial action in the bud."