uniteLANDWORKER Comment
Paul Travers Unite national officer
Food, drink and agricultural sector CHALLENGING TIMES
As you can see from our striking front page, we are facing some real and ongoing challenges.
The war in Iran is causing a surge in fuel prices – and any other resources that use the Strait of Hormuz. We have already seen a warning issued over a shortage of fertilisers – absolutely critical to our industry – and subsequently a rise in prices.
Result – Unite proves there’s power in a union
Unite pay win at NestlÉ
Unite secured an inflation beating 3.9 per cent pay rise for Nestlé workers recently.
Nestlé is the world’s largest food and drink company and Unite represents over 1,200 members at its sites including Buxton, Carlisle, Halifax, Tutbury and York.
Following pay talks, the workers voted to accept the offer, which is 0.3 per cent above the RPI rate of inflation. The one year pay deal will be backdated to April 2026.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “This deal was achieved because Nestlé workers are in a strong union and benefit from collective bargaining. Unite does what it says on the trade union tin – achieving better jobs, pay and conditions for our members.”
Unite acting national officer for food, drink and agriculture, Pat McIlvogue, added, “This deal is another example of why food, drink and agriculture workers looking for a better deal at work should join Unite and organise their colleagues to join too. There is power in a union, there is power in Unite.”
5 uniteLANDWORKER Summer 2026
Some companies have already confirmed increases in prices rises, like NewPrinces Group, who have advised a minimum 5 per cent price hike because of the war and the impact on its business.
The sector’s senior reps discussed this issue recently and agreed if this conflict continues it could well put our jobs, even our very food, at risk. On top of the current difficulties UK food producers find themselves in, like climate change, lack of subsidies, skills shortages – we need the government to take action to protect agricultural and food production workers’ jobs. We are urging the government to do this before it is too late.
Also in the news right now is the increased use of AI and new technologies. Food and drink conglomerate Nestlé, is trialling Spot – a dog-like AI robot, which it is using to do some mechanical and maintenance checks. Nestlé claims that at this time it will not replace an engineer.
Erstwhile partners Coca Cola have also advised us of a Spot trial, along with testing out new tech in warehouses – which could see the eradication of jobs.
To fully equip our reps we’ve started rolling out a Unite training and support programme and for the last 18 months, nationally, we have been asking all pay claims to have a new tech and AI agreement included.
We can do this because at Unite we are coming from a position of collective strength. If you have not yet joined, do so today. United we can beat these challenges.
Alamy
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