UPS workers at Argos’s distribution site in Barton, Staffordshire, have voted to strike following a pay dispute.

Customers are likely to face over two weeks of disruption during the festive period, after the decision by Unite union workers to take industrial action over a long-running pay row. The union said that members have been waiting since March for an offer from UPS in response to their pay claim.

The 16 days of strike action will take place from mid-December by shunter and HGV drivers, after Unite said a pay claim from March had been ‘continually disregarded.’ This means that Argos customers may not get their Christmas deliveries on time

Unite, Britain and Ireland’s largest union, said its members have been ‘treated with contempt’ in the dispute, and those working on the site voted 90% in favour of a strike, which will start at 6pm on December 16th and run until 5:59pm on December 31st.

UPS has said it will put contingency plans in place to ‘minimise disruption’ but is hopeful that an agreement can be reached. However, the union warned that strike action will cause ‘severe disruption’ to Argos and ‘effectively grind work to a halt’ during one of the busiest periods of the year.

Unite regional officer Rick Coyle said: “Our members do not want to cause disruption for Argos customers over the Christmas period, but they have been left with no choice but to strike.”