UK-based trade union Unite say hundreds of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) manufacturing employees will stage a series of walkouts throughout May at several sites.
750 members of Unite voted for strike action after rejecting pharma giant GSK’s offer of a six percent pay increase and a one-time payment of £1,300 ($1,615). According to the trade union, this represents a “substantial real terms pay cut” due to the current inflation rates.
“We recognize that for many of our people, this past year has seen their cost of living rise rapidly and believe the offer we have made to our UK manufacturing colleagues covered by collective bargaining agreements is fair and reasonable,” a spokesperson for GSK told BioProcess Insider.
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“We are therefore disappointed that the Unite union has decided to take industrial action, despite receiving a final offer which includes a 6% increase on base pay, shift pay and allowances, plus a discretionary one-time payment of £1,300 – an overall package equivalent to a 9.7% increase.”
The strike will take place throughout May across six locations, including the manufacturing sites in Irvine and Montrose in Scotland, and facilities in Ware, Barnard Castle, Worthing, and Ulverston in England. All sites will be striking on different days and different times to optimize the success of the industrial action.
The 750 people Unite represent equals to around 20% of GSK’s UK manufacturing workforce.
“Strike action will inevitably result in widespread disruption across GSK’s operations, but the company has brought this dispute on itself. It has had every opportunity to make a pay offer which meets member expectations, but it has failed to do so,” said Unite national officer Tony Devlin.
“GSK has effectively stuck two fingers up to its workforce by walking away from the pay negotiations.”
You can find full details and dates of the strikes here.
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