Nutella production affected at its biggest factory due to Strike

Strike has halted operations at biggest Nutella factory in the world. The factory is located in Northern France. That factory produces 25% of the world’s Nutella. But production had been blockaded for a week as workers have started a strike. They are demanding a pay-rise.

The strike has made key ingredients to run low. The Villers-Écalles factory of the privately owned Italian confectionery company Ferrero normally produces 600,000 jars a day of the cocoa and hazelnut spread, making it the biggest Nutella producer in the world.  The strike has been going on since 27 May.

Fabrice Canchel of the Force Ouvrière (FO) union says that about 160 employees are part of the strike since 27 May. He said on Monday that no lorry has gone in or out of the site since then. Kinder Bueno production has stopped for a week. Only one of the four Nutella production lines is working and that only at 20%. Canchel says that raw materials for the products are running low.

The strikers have put forward their demands. They are demanding a 4.5% pay rise and also a €900 (£800) bonus on top of that. The bosses are only offering them a 0.4% pay rise. Ferrero is a family firm which is known for its secrecy. They have said that the workers part of the strike is a minority group among the 400-member workforce within the plant.

The managers of Ferrero in France have released a statement which says that their priority is to protect the staff members who are not part of the strike. They say that they are the majority group who want to work in the good conditions of the factory. They say that blockade was illegal and they have threatened to use judicial means to ensure access. They have also given fines-threat to the strikers as well.