Strike action faces listed building giant

LISTED building supplies firm Marshalls may face a strike following a dispute over overtime pay to workers.

The union Unite has announced that union member drivers are planning an industrial action ballot of its drivers in an overtime dispute.

Unite said it could cause “severe disruption” to the building trade, though it is currently unclear how many Marshalls drivers are Unite members.

The dispute has arisen over a disparity in overtime payments for drivers, who receive time and a third for overtime, compared to time and a half for manufacturing workers, said the union.

It said the dispute was given “extra piquancy” following the chief executive Martin Coffey’s 87% increase in his remuneration package last year, taking it to over £2m a year.

For the year to 31 December 2014, Elland-based Marshalls increased revenues by 17% to £358.5m, with a 72% increase in pre-tax profits to £22.4m.

Unite national officer for building trades, John Allott said: “We are preparing to hold an industrial action ballot on the inequality in overtime rates between the drivers and the manufacturing workforce.

“We are calling for fairness on this issue, especially given the massive hike in Martin Coffey’s executive pay.

“The two biggest customers of Marshalls – Travis Perkins and Jewson will be severely hit, with a big ripple effect on their own customers, if strike action goes ahead.

“We call on the company to sit down and negotiate on the issue of our members’ overtime pay, so we can reach a fair settlement.”

Susie Fehr, group HR director at Marshalls said: “Marshalls has for many years enjoyed a collaborative and supportive relationship with Unite, as the principle union represented within the business.

“Late last year during the annual pay negotiation there was discussion regarding a number of other issues including this specific issue of overtime.

“Unite decided to take this issue off the table on the basis that it pertained to a limited group of employees. The result of the annual pay negotiation was that an increase of 2.5% was agreed.

“The company remains committed to finding an appropriate internal solution and most recently communicated with the impacted employees on 11th April.

“Marshalls is therefore disappointed that the Union has decided to pre-empt these discussions and has not raised this as a formal dispute.”