STRIKING coffin makers said they felt “let down” today as they nailed funeral bosses for claiming to be “different, fairer and better” than other employers, while offering them a paltry pay deal.

The workforce at Co-operative Funeralcare’s Glasgow factory have resolved to walk out for a further week from November 14 if talks tomorrow at conciliation service Acas fail to find an alternative way forward.

One worker, wishing to remain anonymous due to a ban on staff speaking to the press, said: “It’s a career that matters to the community and not just a job. Members take pride in the job they do and went above and beyond — specifically during the pandemic.

“The Co-op values state that [the company follows] ‘a different, fairer and better way of doing business.’ It’s really hard to see that just now. We are hopeful that Funeralcare will live up to their values but sadly we are yet to see it.”

Workers at the factory first voted for strike action in August, but the strikes were not called until mid-October, after members rejected a revised pay offer which Unite said amounted to less than 5 per cent. The retail price index of inflation now stands at 12.6 per cent.

Amid grave weather outside the factory, spirits were lifted as passing cars and refuse trucks honked their horns in support of the strike.

Unite Scotland officer Willie Thomson said: “Our members were essential workers during the pandemic, they were working when a lot of us were at home. 

“They were ensuring that there was a significant supply of coffins at that time, and now they feel let down by the employer — an employer that, as a co-operative, likes to say it does things a wee bit different. 

“But that’s not something that our members recognise.

“We have given notice to the employer today of a further week of action that will start on November 14, so really it’s incumbent on the Co-operative to get back round the table and to make an offer that can resolve this dispute.”

The Glasgow workplace, on the southern bank of the river Clyde, is the largest coffin factory in Britain, producing more than 100,000 coffins a year and employing around 50 craft workers. It is also the only UK coffin production site for Co-operative Funeralcare, which accounted for 16.5 per cent of the “at need” funeral market in 2016.

A Co-operative Funeralcare spokeswoman insisted the company was “able to maintain a strong supply of coffins” in spite of the strike. 

“Our colleagues at our Glasgow coffin factory are a hugely valued part of our Co-op and following ongoing discussions with Unite we are disappointed that we have not been able to reach an agreement about pay,” she said.

“In spite of the difficult trading environment, we have offered all of our colleagues at the coffin factory a fair pay increase. We are confident that the combined base pay and production bonus for roles within the coffin factory remain highly competitive.”