Shelves at Jumbo supermarkets could end up empty this Easter weekend as workers at the company’s distribution centres go on strike over pay.

‘The shops are not being stocked and that will be obvious pretty quickly,’ Grzegorz Graduszewski of the FNV trade union federation said in a statement. ‘As far as we are concerned, Jumbo only has itself to blame.’

The union has not said how long the strike will last in an effort to stop Jumbo bringing in temporary workers to plug the distribution gaps.

Jumbo said on Monday that it is prepared to raise distribution centre pay 1.5% from April. The union is calling for a 2.5% increase and more permanent jobs. Some 3,000 people work in Jumbo distribution centres and 2,000 of them are employed on temporary contracts, the FNV says.

The union is also in dispute with market leader Albert Heijn about distribution centre pay and a deadline for agreement passed last Friday.

‘Both Jumbo and Albert Heijn are being guided by sales and profit. They would appear to be opting for a race to the bottom, where there is no place for workers’ income and job security,’ said negotiatior Debbie van Leiden.