Workers at Flahavan’s in Kilmacthomas have secured a change in the company’s approach to a proposed pay deal following a unanimous vote for strike action.

Trade union Unite, which represents the overwhelming majority of workers at the plant, says management has now agreed to separate the proposed pay increase from a flexibility policy which had not been agreed or negotiated with the union.

The development follows a ballot for industrial action, which opened on 12 August and closed on 21 August, after workers rejected management’s attempt to link the new pay agreement with the proposed flexibility arrangements.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham welcomed the decision, saying the outcome demonstrated the importance of workers standing together and being prepared to take industrial action.

She said the union’s members had helped make Flahavan’s a household name across Ireland and that the latest development showed that the best way for workers to defend their terms and conditions is by being organised in a strong union.

Workers will now ballot on the proposed pay deal. Once that process is complete, Unite and management are expected to engage on the remaining issues, including the flexibility arrangements.

The dispute had centred on the union’s claim that the flexibility agreement had not formed part of negotiations over the new pay deal and had not been properly presented or negotiated with workers.

Flahavan’s is one of Ireland’s best-known oat producers and supplies around half of the porridge oats consumed at Irish breakfast tables.

Unite says the latest development represents a victory for its members, who had been prepared to take strike action in an effort to protect their existing terms and conditions.