Pay deal secured for hundreds of Brakes Brothers workers in Motherwell

Hundreds of workers at a food distribution centre in Motherwell have successfully secured a pay rise, avoiding the need for strike action.

Unite called it a “good pay win” for around 400 workers at Brakes Brothers Newhouse facility, and means an extra £1,638 over the year.

The offer negotiated by Unite was backed by the workforce, including warehouse, administrative, hygiene, and distribution drivers.

The 70p-per-hour pay increase will be backdated to April this year.

This is up from the previous offer of 53p-per-hour, which the company made back in June.

On July 14, 94% of union members voted to proceed with strike action if necessary, but this was kept secret as negotiations with Brakes Brothers continued.

A large proportion of the Brakes Brothers’ work comes from government-based contracts to prisons, schools and care homes.

The latest wage win builds on the success of last year’s deal, which delivered increases of up to 9.8% on the basic hourly wage.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The Brake Brothers wage deal is a good pay win successfully negotiated for our members. It builds on the successes already made at the company.

“It’s a deal which was delivered after our members emphatically backed taking industrial action, if they needed to, in order to get the increase they deserved.”

Unite industrial officer Andrew Brown added: “Unite is delighted to have significantly lifted the wages of hundreds of workers at Brake Brothers.

“The latest win for Unite at the company means that take home pay has risen by thousands of pounds over the last two years.

A spokesperson for Brakes said: “We are pleased to have agreed a pay award with our colleagues at Newhouse.

“Across the country, we benchmark pay levels against other local employers, so we know that what we offer is fair and supports our colleagues.

“We look forward to continuing to grow our business, supporting great Scottish producers and serving fantastic Scottish food businesses.”