Workers at Hoover in Merthyr Tydfil in Wales are set to strike today (Wednesday 21st April) over pay.
Amicus members at the plant will be on a one-day strike for 24 hours. They will be on the picket line from 7.00am until 5.00pm after being offered no pay increase for this year.
The 0% increase on base pay comes on top of two years where workers saw no rise in pay due to an increase in pension contribution. They were offered a 3% increase per year over two years but pension contributions were upped by the same amount, which swallowed up any pay increase.
Norman Southwell, Amicus Regional Secretary for Wales says, “No pay rise this year coming on the back of no increase for the past two years is unacceptable to our members.
Although we recognise the companies need to improve market share we are also disappointed that they have not been able to improve performance and quality systems and are cynical of this ourselves.
We will be seeking every opportunity to resolve this matter and are prepared to renew negotiations providing the company has something positive to say to us.”
From NA Europe
This is yet another nail in the coffin for UK production. Workers want more pay, Hoover cannot afford it, their market share is in decline so much that they simply cannot afford to pay them!
A story shared recently by Terrys Chocolate in York, who have been subjected to the same financial pressures. Their solution is to close their UK factories and move abroad!
Hoover will do exactly the same in order to survive. UK manufacturing can no longer sustain such high labour costs. It makes good financial sense to look to cheaper production outside of the UK………….Watch out Merthyr…your DOOMED!
Martin
Perhaps if they weren”t forced to make the rubbish designed by Candy things might be different. We”ve got plenty of customers who got 10 years out of their old Logics and other Hoovers, and bought repeats on the strength of it, who are now very upset that they”ve bought underengineered Italian cr@p without knowing it!
Penguin.