Workers at a Stirling manufacturing firm are set to walk out over an ongoing pay row.
Staff at Falcon Foodservices - which is the UK’s leading professional cooking equipment supplier - have been locked in talks with bosses over a wage rise as concerns over the impact of the cost of living continue to grow.
Union GMB Scotland has been involved in the discussions and have warned that strike action is “inevitable” unless progress is made, with an existing offer of three per cent backdated to January and a further three per cent from September to the end of 2023 rejected.
The union claims workers at the factory haven’t received any increase on their basic rate of pay for three years and have confirmed that workers have backed going on strike in a statutory ballot.
The five days of continuous strike action are set to begin at 00:01 on July 25 and run until 23:59 on the 29th - with an “indefinite” overtime ban also set to kick off from tomorrow (Thursday July 14).
GMB bosses have warned of disruption to Falcon’s operations during the strike and have urged bosses to engage with further talks in an effort to put the strike action on hold.
GMB Scotland Organiser Dominic Pritchard said: “Let’s be clear, this is a workforce that’s endured years of pay freezes and now the employer is offering a significant real-terms pay cut in the grip of the biggest cost-of-living crisis in forty years.
“It’s remarkable that management cannot understand the anger and worry of the workers, and with almost certain double-digit inflation and energy bills rising to over £3,000 as we head into winter, the outlook will be hugely challenging without a pay rise that confronts this.
“Unless we get an indication from management that they are prepared to recognise this and get back round the negotiating table with our workplace representatives, then industrial action affecting production and Falcon’s domestic and global customer base is inevitable.”
As the Observer went to press, Falcon Foodservices had not responded to our calls for comment.
