Barbour production may be seriously affected as warehouse staff in Gateshead have decided to strike for a month over new wages and hours starting from this week (Monday January 5).
The famous British heritage brand, which is renowned for having strong connections with the royal family and celebrities alike, have been accused of forcing their staff in to signing contracts to work longer hours or they must prepare to lose their jobs.
Fazia Hussain-Brown, regional officer of Unite reportedly said: “Barbour’s sign or be sacked ultimatum is bullying and anti-family. Many of the workers struggling to get by on less than the living wage are the sole bread winner and have family or caring responsibilities”.
Miss Hussein-Brown added: “The union have accused the wax jacket maker of putting full time workers on similar terms to temporary staff”.
A month-long strike from the warehouse, responsible for packing and dispatching the designer garments globally, will greatly affect the brand as the lengthening of shifts that caused the row were put in place to keep up with high demand from customers.
70 staff went on strike today (January 5), after no sign of a settlement or negotiation over the matter since their previous four day strike in December.
The South Shields workers at the designer brands’ base are said to not be participating in the strike.
