Chesterfield paper mill staff in row over pay - and the company axe their free loo rolls

The firm, which produces toilet and kitchen rolls, has offered a 1.5 per cent pay increase, which has been rejected by 95 per cent of the workforce.

At the same time, the new management team has stopped supplying staff with free toilet and kitchen paper, according to Unite the Union.

Sidcot bought the paper mill in January 2017 from SCA.

Sidcot’s company director and chief executive officer, Nigel Samuels, says ‘challenging trading conditions’ is behind the level of pay.

Unite, which represents workers throughout the paper industry, says it will move forward with a full industrial action ballot and if members vote for strike action, stoppages could begin before the end of the year.

Unite regional officer, Katie Morris, said: “Unite’s long suffering workers have panned the proposed pay offer.

“Members only consider taking strike action as a last resort. However the main blockage in the negotiations appears to be the attitude of Nigel Samuels. His pleading of poverty has failed to wash with our members.

“The decision to remove the perk of free toilet and kitchen rolls has caused a great deal of resentment among the workforce who no longer feel valued for the hard work they undertake.

“Unite is committed to resolving this dispute without recourse to strike action.”