Lorry driver strikes could cause delays to deliveries during the Christmas period as rows over pay continue.

Unite Union members working at DS Smith’s two sites at the Kemsley paper mill and recycling depot near Sittingbourne have walked out in a second round of industrial action.

This comes after union members from Sittingbourne, as well as Cornwall, Bristol and Nottinghamshire rejected a five per cent pay offer.

A union spokesman says the walkout will “compromise” the companies' ability to deliver packaging cardboard and paper to major retailers which include Amazon, Direct Wines, Cadbury and Haribo.

Adding to the disruption DH Smith drivers pick up cardboard from Tesco, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl, Coop, ASOS, Biffa and Veolia.

It is expected that this will leave a pile up of uncollected cardboard and cause significant disruption to the Christmas operations.

However, a DS Smith spokesman says it does “not expect any material impact on our service or operations during this period”.

He added: “We are committed to resolving the situation as the wellbeing of our employees is always our number one priority.”

The action begins on Monday, December 11 and is due to last until Saturday, December 23 after last month’s strikes which took place between November 20 and 27.

DS Smith’s pay offer was rejected by members as it represented “a significant real terms pay cut when the real rate of inflation stood at 11.3% when the pay rise should have been implemented in May,” according to the spokesman.

Unite national officer Adrian Jones says the blame for the significant disruption caused to DS Smith’s clients “lies squarely at the company’s own door”.

He added: “Unite has made it clear that we are prepared to enter talks at any time.

“But instead of finding a way forward DS Smith has continually time wasted, including trying to find spurious legal reasons as to why the industrial action cannot go ahead.

“The only way to resolve this dispute is for DS Smith to stop being greedy and make a reasonable offer.”

Meanwhile, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham says the company can “well afford to give their drivers a fair pay rise”.

This comes as DS Smith Logistics, a DS Smith PLC subsidiary, reported a pre-tax profit of £661 million during 2022/2023 – a 71% increase on the year before.

Ms Graham added: “The company’s refusal to do so is just sheer corporate greed.

“Unite’s top priority is our members’ jobs, pay and conditions and the workforce at DS Smith have their union’s complete support.”