WORKERS at the former Kays factory in Worcester have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking industrial action over the "derisory" redundancy packages they are being offered.

A total of 76 per cent of employees at the Bransford Road warehouse of what is now called Littlewoods Shop Direct thought a strike was a good idea.

Around 500 people will be made redundant when the site closes in January.

Another 86 will be moved out of Worcester when the IT department in Newtown Road is relocated.

There will be initial voluntary redundancies next month and the company hopes around 100 people will take this up.

But according to Alun Hayes, the transport and general workers' union official for Worcester, the package on offer is "derisory".

Speaking to the Worcester News at the time of the ballot, he said: "The company is saving £84m by closing the warehouses and the redundancy offer on the table is derisory. The company has backtracked.

"Worcester is the most efficient of the warehouses and the Worcester warehouse was promised a bright future when the Barclay brothers took over. The company said their would be an enhanced package for the workers.

"What has come back is way short of what the members should expect.

"They should get compensation for the early closure and the broken promises."

He added: "I was not surprised that so many workers decided to vote in favour of the strike.

"They feel very strongly about this."

Now they have decided to strike, workers and the union, will have to follow a legal process that includes another official ballot.

Littlewoods Shop Direct was working on a response to the ballot and said it was going to issue a statement regarding redundancy packages, but this had not arrived at the time of going to press.

The news that catalogue giant Kays was proposing to close its Worcester warehouse came like a shot to the heart of the city last September.