Hundreds of workers at Bosch Rexroth engineering factory in Glenrothes walk out in pay dispute

Hundreds of workers at an engineering giant are to walk out in a dispute over pay.

Unite the union says staff at Bosch Rexroth, in Glenrothes, will be left £7,000 a year worse off under the firm’s current plans.

A pay offer of 6% was offered to workers by the German-owned global tech and engineering giant.

However, the union warns that it would represent a “significant” pay cut, when real inflation stands at 11.7%.

The company is also refusing to back-date the pay award to January 1, or to reverse changes to shift patterns and shift allowances.

It means that the combined impact of the offer would leave workers thousands of pounds worse off per year, according to the union.

Members of the union, a total of 245 workers, will now take continuous strike action from Tuesday, July 5, until Tuesday, July 12.

They will then strike every Monday and Tuesday going forward with an ongoing ban on overtime throughout.

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

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.”