DELIVERY workers will shut off their engines from the end of next week in a dispute over pay.

Two hundred warehouse staff and drivers working for Italian firm Indesit will take four days of strike action, coupled with a work-to-rule beforehand.

Indesit’s biggest clients include John Lewis and Argos, who did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.

Workers have faced below-inflation pay offers of just 1.5 per cent for two years running — in effect pay cuts.

They will stop work for 24 hours from 6am on August 21 and September 1, and for 48 hours from August 27.

Unite regional officer Mark Plumb said: “It is abundantly clear that this dispute centres on the derisory 1.5 per cent offer which was below inflation at the time of the anniversary date in January.

“Our members are tired of being fobbed off year on year with one-off bonuses, which may never materialise or when they do are worth virtually nothing. Our members are seeking a substantial increase in their basic pay after years of below-inflation pay rises.”

The workforce delivers fridge-freezers, washing machines, cookers, hobs, kettles and toasters to homes and department stores across Britain.

The dispute has already secured additional cash for drivers’ assistants in London as a result of extending “London weighting” to these staff — but a refusal to budge on pay led workers to overwhelmingly reject a new offer from bosses.