UN Unilever NV

Unilever PLC (ULVR.LN) said Thursday that two unions have voted to accept a revised pension scheme, which could end the threat of further strike action against the consumer goods company.

The U.K.-based group said members of unions Unite and Usdaw agreed to the changes, while the GMB is still balloting its members.

Workers at the company carried out a program of rolling strikes to protest against plans to scrap the company's final-salary pension scheme. The walkouts hit production at some of Unilever's key personal care and food brands including Dove, Marmite and PG Tips.

In early December last year, more than 2,500 employees walked out and created picket lines for a day at various sites around the country--the first national strike in the company's history. Unilever employs about 7,000 people in the U.K.

At the time, the unions maintained that Unilever's plans would lead to pension losses of about 20% for most of its workers, but some individuals would lose up to 40% of their retirement income.

Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch maker of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Knorr soup and Bertolli olive oil spreads as well as a variety household cleaning products, said the changes are necessary as final-salary pensions are no longer viable for the company.

In April last year, it said it was closing the final-salary pension plan to existing employees from July 2012. The revised scheme is based on career-average salaries and contributions, similar to those offered to new employees since 2008.

At 1441 GMT, Unilever shares were trading up 3 pence, or 0.2%, at 2113 pence, in a higher London market.

-By Simon Zekaria, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842-9410; simon.zekaria@dowjones.com

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