Workers at Weetabix factories are to stage a series of strikes in a dispute over contracts.
The staff at centres in Kettering and Corby, Northamptonshire, will strike for 48 hours from September 21.
The strike will be followed by walkouts throughout the autumn, as members of Unite - who work as engineers at the plants - protest against proposed changes to their contracts.
The union has said that workers face changes to their shift and working patterns, which it claims would result in some being up to £5,000 a year worse off.
Strike action was originally scheduled for June but was postponed to allow for talks with the employer.
Those talks led to new proposals being put to the workers but were overwhelmingly rejected in a ballot.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The idea of ‘fire and rehire’ is abhorrent to me. If Weetabix decide to go down this route and they overstep the line then I will absolutely defend our members.”
Workers say that the strikes will cause widespread delays to production at the factories and lead to shortages of Weetabix and other popular products made at the factories including Alpen, Weetos and Oatibix.
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