Staff At Clydebank Engineering Firm Consulted On Action Against 50p Pay Offer

Staff At Clydebank Engineering Firm Consulted On Action Against 50 Pence Pay Offer

Workers at Clydebank Engineering and Fabrication (CBEF) are being consulted this week over whether to move to a full industrial action ballot against their employer’s refusal to improve a pay offer for 2021 of just 50 pence an hour.

Union representatives previously submitted a claim for a £1.50 an hour increase as a starting point for closing a significant local pay gap for CBEF jobs against comparable hourly rates for similar trades across Glasgow (see Notes to Editors).

Trades people like welders and platers in CBEF are currently mired on day-shift rates of just £10.03 an hour, lagging nearly £7.00 an hour behind the average base salary for a welder of £16.97 an hour.

A consultative ballot will now run in the employer, a manufacturer of steel structures and a major supply chain provider of prefabricated panels to the international bus-builder Alexander Dennis Limited, until Friday 25 June.

GMB Scotland Organiser Gary Cook said:

“GMB has consistently raised the problem of widespread low-pay in work and society, and this is yet another case in point of people struggling on little more than £10 an hour. It’s got to be better than this.

“Should our members return support for moving to a full industrial action ballot against the employer’s pay offer, then we will begin plans for that statutory process and that could mean supply-chain disruption for firms like Alexander Dennis later this summer.

“If we want to build a fairer recovery then we need to start giving people proper value for the work they do – the likes of CBEF would do well to listen their workers’ voice and become part of the solution, and not the problem.

ENDS

Contact: GMB Scotland Organiser Gary Cook on 07712 677594 or GMB Scotland Communications on 07976 447077.

Notes to Editors:

“How much does a welder make in Glasgow?”, Average base salary as of 18 June 2021”, Indeed.co.uk, access at: << Welder Salary in Glasgow (indeed.com)>>