For three days Argos drivers will go on strike through Christmas, commencing 20th of December, a decision made after Unite (Britain's biggest trade union made up of 1.42 million members) members voted by 83% after the company had failed to give what is two years worth of holiday back pay worth £700 on average.
David and Goliath
Unite had stated that this strike should cause "havoc and chaos" for the retailer. Union regional officer Rick Coyle said to the BBC that:
"The drivers have patiently tried to resolve this matter for over two years. Now they would like the money they are owed in time for Christmas, which is not unreasonable."
The drivers going on strike work for Wincanton (a British provider of logistics, offering supply chain management for businesses like Argos) who are based at the Argos's forefront national distribution center around the are of Burton-On-Trent in the county of Staffordshire.
Shortly after these comments were made by Unite an Argos spokesperson came out and retorted saying that the strike performed by the union is hardly notable to the retailer:
"We have contingency plans in place and there will be no impact on customers." which is what the spokesperson told the BBC.
Nitty gritty
The national distribution center affected by the strike supplies Argos's other distribution centers (such as Basildon DC, Bridgewater DC, Heywood DC, Castleford DC, Lutterworth DC etc.) all, in turn, deliver to Argos local branches.
Unite have gone to say that this legal dispute started with Wincanton, specifically, on how holiday pay was calculated. They continue on to comment that they have made legal cases to increase the fairness of the pay, overtime, and extra shifts should be added to the criteria which affect holiday pay.
"It is very difficult to understand why Wincanton has allowed this saga to get out of hand." Rick Goyle told the BBC.
Continuous strikes
For the past year, Argos has been suffering from the strikes performed by Unite. Earlier in the year on May, the union made strike threats to the retailer over plans to transfer 96 lorry drivers from Argos to Eddie Stobart. The strike was performed after an overwhelming amount voted yes to the idea.
