Google MapsHundreds of workers are set to go on strike at a Fife factory after they rejected a pay offer.
More than 280 employees at the Bosch Rexroth factory in Glenrothes will strike next week after the German-owned company proposed a new “annualised hours system.”
Unite the Union said the proposed pay package would have “drastically” cut workers’ pay by up to 22% a month and could have put workers into 37 hours of debt.
They say the system would mean that if a worker is paid for more hours than they have worked, the company could recover the overpayment on a debt basis.
The union said the initial proposal would have put workers up to 70 hours in debt.
The factory engineers parts for the construction industry, including gears and brakes, as well as parts for forklift trucks.
Strike action was supported by 95% of the factory’s union members.
“What is being put on the table by Bosch Rexroth remains unacceptable,” Unite industrial officer George Ramsay said.
“Our members have clearly said that they will not accept these drastic cuts. Hundreds of workers are being forced to take strike action by Bosch Rexroth when there are absolutely no financial reasons for them to impose these changes.”
The company itself said it remains “fully committed” to resolving the dispute.
“Bosch Rexroth has engaged constructively with employees and union representatives on proposals regarding contractual changes that aim to maintain full employment at the Glenrothes site while facing disruptive market conditions as part of our regular business cycle,” a spokesperson for Bosch Rexroth Glenrothes said.
“We believe that the proposed changes are essential to provide the necessary flexibility to respond to market fluctuations. It was disappointing that after presenting the initial proposal to employees and making significant changes, Unite still took the decision to continue with industrial action.”
Bosch Rexroth said it has organised “several” collective conciliation meetings with the aim of coming to a resolution.
“The business continues to act transparently and in good faith,” the spokesperson added.
Strike action will start on December 8 and end on December 15.
Unite the Union’s Mr Ramsay said strike action is set to “further escalate”, which he said will cause more disruption for the company.
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