Seven-hundred workers at a North Staffordshire factory hit by a pay dispute have voted in favour of industrial action. Workers at Merloni UK, in Blythe Bridge, have imposed a work to rule from today and an overtime ban will start on Monday. Further talks at the former Creda factory were held today where union officials updated workers on latest developments.
Workers have already rejected an ofer which included a final below-inflation offer of a 2.5 per cent pay rise.
Company officials said they were surprised and disappointed by the industrial action, which has divided workers at the factory.
Mick Stevens of the Amicus union said: “There may be another ballot to step up action to strike action.
“The dispute itself is about pay, but we could work with the company and negotiate a deal. If the company won’t agree to increase pay, we’d want a small change in other areas to enable us to re-ballot our members.”
He emphasised: “It’s not the union and the shop stewards that are the drivers of this – the members are saying they want this dispute. I don’t believe the company appreciates this fact.
“The union has a policy of talking at any point in time to resolve a dispute, and not taking action. If there was any gesture of goodwill we would encourage members to give the company more time.”
He said the workforce was also disgruntled about changes to working practices being “pushed through without regard” for their effect on employees, with efficiency measures designed to improve productivity often resulting in people working much harder and faster.
He said: “We want to see trial periods, and more monitoring of health and safety implications. It’s a manual environment – if someone is unable to continue with that kind of work, there are no light duties, and people are leaving on health grounds.”
In a statement a Merloni spokesman said 300 employees had accepted the pay offer, and only two out of five of the remaining 950 hourly-paid workers had voted for action.
He said the firm had already made a commitment to re-examine all aspects of improving efficiency, eliminating losses and redefining terms and conditions.
The spokesman said: “After the ballot was taken, a further meeting was held with the unions and a commitment was made to address issues.
“The new site director, Carlos Ramos, then wrote to every employee confirming this committment.”
He added the company would await the outcome of today’s meeting between unions and workers before deciding how to respond.
In the last three months the company has taken on 150 additional workers.
A company spokesman added: “We have no plans to close the site. Our strategy is to continue to modernise the factory, confirming its position as a centre of excellence for cooker manufacturing and ensuring the continued market leadership of our brands.”
Merloni Elettrodomestici acquired the former Creda factory two years ago when it bought General Domestic Appliances from Marconi and General Electric.
>From The Sentinel