Workers at the Co-op coffin factory have started a new round of strike action over pay, which will last at the Glasgow location until January 16 of next year.<br /><br />In a dispute over salary that has lasted months, employees at the Co- op's UK coffin plant in Scotland have gone on strike once more.<br /><br />The Funeralcare facility in Govan, Glasgow, reportedly started a strike on Wednesday that would last continuously until January 16. This was according to the Unite union. Since October, there have been a number of week-long strikes.<br /><br />The corporation claims that its offer is reasonable and must be comparable to the proposals made to the group's 60,000 total employees, while the union claims that Co-op executives have failed to make an acceptable offer to settle the dispute.<br /><br />The corporation announced that it and Unite had agreed to meet again the following week in an effort to settle the conflict.<br /><br />When the disagreement might have been handled for "a fraction of this amount," according to Unite, the Funeralcare company allegedly spent more than £1 million last year purchasing coffins from outside vendors.<br /><br />The Co-op refuted this, claiming that it had always purchased coffins from different vendors since it offered a much greater selection than the Govan factory could. It produces coffins of common sizes out of solid wood and veneer.<br /><br />On its website, The Co-op offers 27 different types of coffins, with the cardboard coffin costing £350 and comprising image and engraved coffins as well as ones made from bamboo, willow, wool, and banana leaf. The most expensive is a "white rose casket," which costs £2,650. Prices can be requested, and customers can also design their own.<br />About 50 employees are taking part in the strike after their offer of a 4% salary increase for 2022 and a 5% pay increase for 2023 was refused. With an annual rate of 10.7% in November (down from 11.1% in October), inflation has reached a 40-year high.<br /><br />Unite declined to disclose the amount it was seeking, but regional officer Willie Thomson said: "At this time, they have not gone close to that figure with the offer they have made."<br /><br />There are 59 employees working at the factory, and some manufacturing has continued. The Co-op claimed that the strikes had no effect on the availability of coffins.<br />The Co-op, a company that easily has the money to raise wages, would rather spend £1 million on substitute items and let this conflict drag on for a fourth month than pay its employees appropriately, according to Unite general secretary Sharon Graham.<br /><br /><br />"The members of Unite remain steadfast, and they keep demonstrating their tenacity in this struggle. The Co-management op's is obviously attempting to undermine its own devoted employees, but Unite will support our members in every step of their struggle for improved pay, working conditions, and benefits.
