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Strike staring Woollen mills as 2.5% hike offer rejected |
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2004-7-19
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Over half of Scotland’s woollen-mill industry is plagued by dispute over pay as industry fights for survival amid fierce competition from the Third World.
According to Union officials, about 200 employees from five Scottish mills (Lochcarron in Galashiels and Hawick, Schofield Cloth in Galashiels, Robert Noble in Peebles and Alex Begg in Ayr) voted overwhelmingly to be balloted on action after they were offered a below-inflation pay rise of 2.25 per cent.
Strikes would further compound the for mills, which have suffered along with the rest of Scotland’s embattled textile industry, with the loss of 35,000 jobs over the past ten years. They were mainly due to firms from developing countries offering stiff competition at lower production costs.
The Confederation of British Wool Textiles, negotiating on their behalf, stated that there was no chance of a higher offer due to ‘extremely competitive’ marketplace.
Tony Trench, of the Transport and General Workers Union, said industrial action seemed inevitable unless there was a change of heart by the employers.
"We have put in for a substantial pay rise and they have offered us 2.25 per cent, which is below inflation. We have had a consultative ballot of the membership and 90 per cent voted to be balloted for industrial action," he said. "These people have been trodden on for years and years and a lot of them are on the minimum wage of £4.50 an hour. Some of them get bonuses but not all of them.
"We would not be prepared to look at anything less than inflation. A 2.25 per cent rise is technically a wage cut and we’re certainly not going to take that."
Trench added that the companies had ‘arrogantly’ refused the Union’s offer to go to independent arbitration.
The TGWU is running a campaign for the workers to be paid a minimum of £6 an hour. Trench accepted the woollen mills might not be able to afford this, but added: "I don’t think £6 an hour is a great sum of money in this day and age. We are looking for a substantial pay rise, but that is our aspiration."
A decision on the form of action to be taken will not be decided until the second ballot, due to be held at the start of August.
Trench said the mills would struggle to attract staff if they carried on paying such low wages, threatening the survival of the mills. "This is part of our heritage that’s going."
John Lambert, the director general of the British Confederation of Wool Textiles, said competition from China and even mills in Yorkshire - where the TGWU had accepted a 2 per cent pay increase - meant there was no chance of more money this year.
"We are disappointed that the union members felt unable to accept the offer that was made to them. It is the best offer we can make this year in light of the extremely competitive marketplace," he said.
"We are faced with increased costs for energy, dealing with environmental issues and insurance costs. We’re hoping it won’t come to industrial action."
Frank Steele, production manager at the Langholm Dyeing Company, which includes Schofield Cloth, stressed that 2.25 per cent was all that the mills could afford.
"If it’s more than that, it will cost jobs because textiles are absolutely on the ropes. We’ve been hit by power costs, water costs, effluent costs - we’re absolutely struggling, really suffering," he said.
"We cannot afford to pay any more. We have a loyal workforce and we appreciate what they do, but it’s a difficult one." |
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