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Trade union Unite has threatened further action against Oxford University Press after 90 staff held a one day strike today (Tuesday) in a row over pay.
Staff at the Corby warehouse walked out at 6am this morning. The union is unhappy over a 2% increase in pay to staff, demanding a 4.2% pay rise from the academic publisher. Unite claims warehouse staff had a wage freeze imposed last year, compared to other OUP staff whose wages increased by 2%.
A further two days of action is planned for next week and Unite threatened "continuous" strikes if the impasse continues. Steve Sibbald, national officer for Unite, said: "Our members have shown great resolve against a company who have been cynically attempting to exploit the current economic crisis. Our members are determined to resist and improve their terms and conditions for now and for the future."
In a statement, OUP said: "We believe we have made a very fair and reasonable final offer and are disappointed at the outcome of the ballot. OUP has been keen to maintain constructive dialogue with Unite representatives throughout the negotiation. However, despite extensive discussions, we have as yet been unable to reach agreement."
It added it had plans in place to minimise any impact and did not anticipate any disruption to customers. A total of 140 people work at the Corby warehouse.