Union members at a factory that makes parts for firms such as Bombardier, Alstom, JBC, Caterpillar and John Deere have gone on strike after rejecting an improve pay offer from management. Workers at the Trelleborg factory, on the northern edge of Leicester, voted for action after initially rejecting a 4 per cent pay rise and a £700 lump sum.
Management said the Unite union members had subsequently turned down an improved offer of a 7 per cent increase – backdated to April 1 – which was put to them on July 6.
Sweden-based Trelleborg makes dampeners, suspensions, pads and buffers for industry and the transport sector and most recent financials for the UK business, covering 2021, showed pre-tax profits of £2.9 million – up from £2.3 million the year before – on a turnover of £32.2 million.
Leicester plant manager Alex Carter said months of negotiations over the 2023 pay claim had not paid off.
He told BusinessLive: “The Union has chosen not to accept this offer.
“Trelleborg remains open to discussions to allow an agreement to minimize the impact of the strike which commenced on July 11, 2023.
“Trelleborg has a long history of offering competitive and fair compensation to all employees and regularly benchmarks against both government and independent indices.”
Unite regional officer Lakhy Mahal previously said: “Trelleborg’s customers will not be pleased if their supply chains are disrupted by the company’s greed.
“Trelleborg’s management need to put forward an offer that is acceptable to our members – it can clearly afford to.”
The union said strikes over pay at Trelleborg’s factories in Gloucestershire and Somerset ended last month after workers accepted a “significantly improved” offer from the company.
