Union Unite has warned further industrial action could be on the cards by drivers and warehouse staff at white goods manufacturer Indesit UK, if a ballot on the company’s latest pay offer leads to it being rejected.
The union, which staged the last of three strikes over pay and conditions at the firm on 1 September, told Motortransport.co.uk today that further talks with Indesit UK had led to the company making an improved offer.
Regional officer Mark Plumb said, however, that the new offer was based on a one-off payment, rather than a true salary increase, amounted to just “tens of pounds”, and was “unlikely to meet members’ aspirations”.
Plumb said the three recent strikes had been “overwhelmingly well supported” by its 200-plus members across the 12 sites involved and had had a “significant impact” on Indesit UK’s operations.
The ballot on Indesit’s latest pay offer will run until 17 September and could lead to further indsturial action, Plumb added.
“We'll have to consult with our members but one would expect a rejection at this stage would potentially see some further continuous industrial action taking place,” he confirmed.
In the meantime, the union began a fresh period of work-to-rule yesterday (9 September), which is scheduled to run through to 22 September.
Indesit UK, whose Hotpoint Logistics team won the Training Award and the Operational & Compliance Excellence Award at this year’s Motor Transport Awards, has not commented on the dispute with Unite since telling Motortransport.co.uk back in August that it was “disappointed” with Unite’s plans to strike.
