The spectre of a savoury teatime hangs over the nation today after workers at the Tunnock's biscuit factory ceased production of teacakes, snowballs and caramel wafers and went on strike.

About 350 employees at the factory in Uddingston, Lanarkshire, decided to go ahead with a second day of industrial action after the failure of pay talks this month.

Tunnock's made an offer of a 2% rise but staff voted at a meeting last Wednesday to go ahead with the first 24-hour walkout while workers were balloted on the figure, the Unite union said. Tunnock's products – which include the chocolate-dipped, marshmallow-covered teacakes and strikingly-packaged caramel wafers – have attained cult status in Scotland and beyond.

During the first 24-hour walkout last Thursday, about 60 workers waved Unite flags and chanted "we want fair pay" outside Tunnock's factory on the corner of Old Mill Road in Uddingston. Others held placards with the words: "We don't want crumbs."

Derek Ormston, the regional industrial organiser for Unite, said: "The union is disappointed that the company has not approached us with an improved offer to avoid this action today.

"Our members will be considering what the next stage will be once we have seen the result of the ballot on the 2% offer." A continuous overtime ban and work-to-rule started last Thursday, and workers will formally vote on whether to accept the 2% offer with a postal ballot due to close on 4 October.

No one was available for comment at Tunnock's today. However, the company released a statement last week confirming that industrial action was on the way.

Ormston said about 100 people were manning the picket line today, adding that the mood was one of solidarity and determination.

"There's a strong will for them to get a fair and just pay award," he said. "They believe that the company has not acted in the most appropriate circumstances."

He said there was the potential for further strike action after the ballot, but stressed that the workers had not taken the decision lightly.

"There's a determination but the workers are reluctant because they value Tunnock's as a brand but feel they have no choice but to take action.

"The people who work there are predominantly of the locale and they are families. There are fathers and sons and mothers and daughters, so it's a big step for them to come out. If there's four people in the same family, then that's four incomes, so that shows the depth of feeling."

Ormston described the company as "a proper Scottish icon" that was looked upon very fondly by many, including the 550 people who work at its factory.

"They're well-loved and are still seen as a family business and well-respected in the community as well. Usually there's hostility between employees and employers, but there's a great affection here, although people feel the management style has changed."

He also warned that with the factory normally producing 350 teacakes a minute, production would be "severely hit" by the action.

The firm, which began life in 1890 when Thomas Tunnock bought a shop in Uddingston for £80, was a baking outfit and "purveyor of quality flour confectionery" until the 1950s.

In that decade, the company diversified into the four sweet treats that made its name: teacakes, caramel wafers, caramel logs and snowballs.