Pay cut ‘dressed up as rise’ from firm bringing in millions ‘not good enough’

More than 100 workers based at the Leicester factory of industrial anti vibration solution firm Trelleborg will begin indefinite strike action over pay, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today (Thursday).

The shop floor workers have rejected a one-year deal of four per cent, plus a £700 lump sum. With the real rate of inflation, RPI, standing at 11.3 per cent, this is a significant real terms pay cut. 

Trelleborg's latest financial returns, meanwhile, show it made a gross profit of £9 million for the year ending December 2021. 

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Trelleborg’s offer to its members of a real terms pay cut dressed up as a rise is not good enough. This is a company bringing in millions, it can more than afford to offer a reasonable wage increase and that is what needs to happen. Unite is now entirely focused on improving our members’ jobs, pay and conditions and Trelleborg’s workforce will receive the union’s full support as they strike for a fair deal.”

The workers will begin all out continuous strike action every day from 11 July until the dispute is resolved. The industrial action will shut the site causing delays of products for Bombardier, Alstom, M.T.R.C, JBC, Caterpillar and John Deere.

Unite regional officer Lakhy Mahal said: “Trelleborg has left our members no choice but to strike and any disruption to the supply chains of the company’s clients is entirely the fault of management for refusing to table a reasonable offer. Trelleborg needs to put forward a deal our members can accept.”

Strikes at Trelleborg’s factories in Gloucestershire and Somerset ended earlier this month after workers at those sites, who were also in a dispute over pay, accepted a significantly improved offer from the company.

ENDS

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Unite is Britain and Ireland’s largest union with members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Sharon Graham.