MARKS and Spencer facing Valentine’s Day protests is taking place today with members of Unite dressed in Valentine’s Day regalia, holding signs with the words:- "heartbreaker" at M&S stores all over the country.

This action is being taken over a dispute with Logistics Logistics Group Holdings Ltd and its subsidiaries, including Arrow XL, due to the company’s commercial relationship.

We are informed that around 350 members of Unite, employed by Arrow XL, are currently re-balloting for industrial action, having already taken extensive strike action previously in this dispute. The Union says that the workforce is very poorly paid, with many workers on just the minimum wage, or barely above it.

In a press statement sent to us, the Union says:- "Arrow has only been prepared to offer its workers a 5% pay increase. With the true inflation rate (RPI) currently at:- 13.4% this is actually a massive pay cut. In contrast, its highest paid director was paid £539,000, in 2021, an 84% increase on the previous year, a real reflection of its high profits."

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham adds:- "Valentine's Day is about love and romance. But this Valentine's Day Arrow XL stands out as a real heartbreaker. The bottom line is that M&S is using delivery companies under Logistics Holdings' umbrella, which condemns workers to live on poverty pay. It's time M&S did more than talk about its company ethics and did something about its rogue supplier Logistic Holdings."

Logistic Group Holdings is owned by Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay, who the union says are:- "notorious anti-union brothers."

The parcel delivery firm Yodel is in the Logistics stable and in 2021 was responsible for a massive 93% of its profits. Yodel is another high-profile supplier of Marks and Spencer.

As well as M&S, Logistic Group companies are suppliers to:- Holland and Barrett, Jo Malone and Zara.

Unite National Officer, Adrian Jones, informed us that:- "Arrow XL has been given numerous opportunities to resolve this dispute through negotiations, but it has refused to do so. The company needs to make a realistic offer and return to the negotiating table in order to resolve this dispute."