MORE than 50 workers in the county workers are being balloted on strike action which could potentially cripple one of North Kent's biggest businesses.

The staff who work for distribution company TDG at Kimberly-Clark’s Northfleet warehouse have been balloted by union Amicus following a dispute over pay.

A spokesman for Amicus said all staff at the depot had been contacted and a result was expected before Christmas.

He warned that any potential strike would involve the whole warehouse operation, which could potentially cripple the paper mill in Northfleet.

He said: "If they do decide to walk out it could be anything from one hour to weeks."

It is not clear at this stage exactly what the pay dispute is about, but Amicus did confirm it was to do with TDG’s latest pay review.

TDG was unable to comment before the Gravesend Messenger went to press on Wednesday.

Kimberly-Clark, which employs about 280 in its North Kent paper mill declined to comment on how the strike could effect its business.

A spokesman said: "Because there is no planned strike for Kimberly-Clark staff we cannot speculate."