| Sheffield ForgemastersWorkers from Sheffield Forgemasters today begin industrial action in a row over bonuses. An overtime ban this morning will be followed by a 24-hour stoppage on Wednesday. The dispute involves 80 workers and is over a failure to make progress towards consolidating bonus payments into the workers’ basic pay. Many younger workers’ pay barely exceeds the minimum wage but the bonus makes up 37% of the workers’ total package. The pay arrangement means highly skilled workers at the company are losing out when being assessed for credit worthiness and borrowing. The workers who took part in the ballot voted 98.3% cent in favour of a continuous overtime ban and 95.1%in favour of discontinuous strike action. The action involves hourly paid workers in the machine shops of Sheffield Forgemasters Limited. Unite regional officer Doug Patterson said: “Sheffield Forgemasters has repeatedly failed to address our members’ reasonable demands for their bonuses to be consolidated into their pay. The unwillingness of the company leaves some of our members on an hourly rate just over £7 when being assessed for credit and mortgages. “Many of our highly skilled members are in a financially precarious position because of this arrangement. They are taking action to demand financial security. Forgemasters is a market leader in large scale forgings thanks to the contribution of these workers and they deserve to be treated fairly for their effort.” |