Unite slams global giant’s plans that leave Scottish workers £7000 a year worse off

Unite has today (Monday 4 July) confirmed that members working at Bosch Rexroth Glenrothes, will walk out over a pay proposal that will leave workers £7000 a year worse off.

The German-owned global tech and engineering giant has proposed a six per cent pay deal, which Unite says is a significant pay cut given that real inflation currently stands at 11.7 per cent.

The employers are also refusing to back-date the pay award to 1 January or to reverse changes to shift patterns and shift allowances, which means the combined impact of the offer is to leave workers around £7,000 per year worse off.

Workers at the site have rejected the company’s proposal by 74 per cent.

Unite says that the Bosch Rexroth, a subsidiary of Bosch, is in a strong financial position and has no need to attack the workers’ pay and conditions.  In its 2021 annual report, Bosch Rexroth boasted of `reaching a new high on incoming orders’ which have generated sales of £5.4 billion (6.2 billion euros), up by nearly one fifth on the year before.

The union’s members, 245 workers, will take continuous strike action from Tuesday 5 July until Tuesday 12 July inclusive. Thereafter they will strike every Monday and Tuesday going forward with an ongoing ban on overtime throughout.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Disgracefully, Bosch Rexroth is another employer that is coining it in yet is hell-bent on destroying wages.

“Bosch’s order books are bulging and the company is boasting of a very bright future, so there is no need whatsoever to make this Scottish workforce poorer.

“My message to Bosch’s management is to think again and come back to the table with an improved offer because Unite is determined to defend our members’ jobs, pay and conditions.”

Bosch Rexroth engineer parts for the construction industry including gears and brakes, as well as parts for forklift trucks.

Unite regional officer George Ramsay said: “These pay proposals will leave workers thousands of pounds out of pocket at a time when the cost of living crisis deepens. Not only is the 6 per cent a pay cut as inflation hits 11.7 per cent, but to implement shift changes that will erode incomes further, is quite simply an unacceptable way to treat these loyal workers.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor

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Unite Scotland is the country’s biggest and most diverse trade union with around 150,000 members. The union is led in Scotland by Pat Rafferty.