A strike ballot has been opened for members of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) at KP Snacks in Ashby over a pay dispute.

The formal ballot will close on November 25 and follows a recent consultative industrial action ballot.

Usdaw area organiser Ed Leach told the Grocery Gazette website: "The 2024/25 pay negotiations have so far failed to reach a satisfactory outcome. 

"The company's offer of 6.5 per cent fails to adequately address the narrowing of the gap between the value of the National Living Wage and the consolidated rates of pay at the site."

Usdaw says KP Snacks' 6.5 per cent offer was rejected by 87.5 per cent in its most recent ballot, which Leach said "clearly demonstrates that the offer is unacceptable to our members.

"We regret that the company has flatly refused to increase the offer and we urge them to change their stance to avoid disruption to the business in the busy pre-Christmas period."

A KP Snacks spokesperson told Grocery Gazette: "We are disappointed that we find ourselves in this position. 

"The 6.5 per cent pay rise we are offering is very competitive and almost four times the current rate of inflation, which stands at 1.7 per cent.

"This offer, combined with last year's, amounts to a 15 per cent increase across the two years."

In the 2023 financial year, KP Snacks, which has a portfolio that includes Mccoy's, Terrell's, KP Nuts and Popchips, reported a pre-tax profit of £93.7m, an increase from £64.3m in 2022.