WORKERS at two Princes Food factories in Bradford and Glasgow began a series of strikes over pay today, threatening a shortage of tinned goods.

Three more factories in Cardiff, Wisbech and Long Sutton will come to a standstill later this week.

Unite warned that supermarket shelves could soon be empty of Princes Food brands including Branston and Crosse & Blackwell as well as their owned tinned foods, including tuna.

The union says workers were promised pay increases of 4 to 7 per cent by Princes’ then owner Mitsubishi.

The company was taken over by Italian food conglomerate Newlat SPA, which reneged on the deal.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Newlat need to get back round the negotiating table before its customers discover they won’t have any products on their shelves.

“Our members work in back-breaking roles on low pay and want a fair slice of the pie.”

Angelo Mastrolia, chairman of the board of directors of Princes, said: “It has become increasingly clear that resolving this dispute with Unite is becoming more difficult.

“We have engaged in discussions with the union for several months, proposing an above-inflation pay rise and offering to backdate this to April 2024 during the negotiations.”