Paragon UK reaches agreement with Unite

A planned 58-hour strike by Unite members at the Sunderland-headquartered commercial printer was postponed last month after the company agreed to resume talks with the union, which had pledged to step up its strike action and ask customers and suppliers to help pressurise the company.

Unite national officer Steve Sibbald said that, following "long and detailed negotiations", an agreement had been reached and all industrial action had been halted.

He added: "There has been an agreement on changes to some terms, which are nowhere near as severe as the company was initially proposing. Everything at Paragon is now back on track."

A spokeswoman for Paragon UK confirmed that an agreement had been reached, but she would not give further details of the agreement, saying that it was against company policy to provide specific information on employee contracts.

She said: "The agreement provides us with a platform to move forward in an increasingly competitive environment. We would like to thank our customers and suppliers, who have shown us great support over the recent weeks."

Union members at Paragon UK voted unanimously in favour of industrial action in June after the company launched a 90-day consultation on changes to production workers’ terms and conditions of employment.

As a result, 35 staff at the site staged 24-hour walkouts every Tuesday and Friday for three weeks while the 58-hour walkout was scheduled to begin at 7pm on 31 July with picket lines in place from 6.30am until 7pm on 1 and 2 August.