Workers start overtime ban as Derby dispute escalates

Workers at Derby’s Reckitt Benckiser plant will start a continuous overtime ban and work to rule from Thursday 11 July in the dispute which unions say is about workers being asked to work for up to an extra four weeks a year.

The Unite union says that its 160 members will start the overtime ban and work to rule at Sinfin Lane from 6pm on 11 July, after voting “overwhelmingly” for industrial action.

The union crux of the dispute is that “heavy handed” managers at the firm, which produces such iconic brands as Dettol and Mr Sheen, want to make the employees work either an extra 107 hours or 157 hours a year, depending on their contract.

The workers voted by 74% for strike action and by 83% for industrial action short of a strike.

Unite said that the industrial action short of a strike, including the overtime ban and work to rule, was “a shot across the bows” and that future strike action was on the cards, unless the firm came to the negotiating table with sensible proposals.

Unite regional coordinating officer Shaun Lee said: “Our members have voted overwhelmingly for industrial action, including strikes.

“However, we have decided that the overtime ban and work to rule from 11 July are a first shot across the bows and, if the company does not come to the negotiating table with sensible proposals, we will ratchet up the action to strikes later in the summer.
“We are blaming heavy-handed bosses in Derby for morale plummeting over the last two years and for these flawed plans where even Christmas, Boxing and New Year’s Day will be treated as normal working days.

“The bosses seem hell-bent on trying to force many workers to increase their working time by an extra 157 hours to 2,190 hours per year – this is unacceptable.
“Under these plans, which the company wants to introduce from 1 August, many employees could lose up to £1,600 a year as the hours they get paid overtime rates for currently will now be part of the normal working week.”

Last week, a spokesperson for Reckitt Benckiser told TheBusinessDesk.com: “RB is implementing contractual changes to radically simplify employee contracts across our site in Derby. The proposed changes will help RB to retain a competitive edge in today’s challenging manufacturing environment and ensure the longevity of manufacturing at our site in Derby.

“The working conditions and ongoing health and safety of our employees is of paramount importance to RB. We engaged and consulted Unite in January on the contractual changes and continue to work closely with Unite to support our employees, and answer any questions they may have.”

The industrial dispute that Unite members are being balloted over relates to: “The employer imposing detrimental changes to Terms & Conditions, including increasing working hours to 2,190 per year.”

Click here to sign up to receive our new South West business news...
Close