Wave of strikes hit GSK’s UK manufacturing

GSK was able to avert industrial action at some of its UK facilities last year after agreeing a pay deal – but with the cost-of-living crisis still in full swing, the issue has returned to the fore.

Yesterday – for the first time in the group’s history – GSK workers left their stations at a plant in Montrose, the first of a series of walkouts this month designed to have the greatest impact on the company’s operations as another agreement on pay is sought.

The action was called after union members rejected an offer to increase pay by 6%, with a £1,300 lump sum to help them cope with rising inflation in the UK. The workers reportedly include engineers, process technicians, laboratory analysts, warehouse workers and fire officers.

The Unite union, representing around 160 workers at the Montrose site, said the offer constitutes a “substantial real terms pay cut” given that the retail price index (RPI) currently stands at 13.5%.

The main measure of consumer price growth in the country has been above 10% since last summer, and a string of base interest rate rises by the Bank Of England have squeezed workers with mortgages and other form of borrowing. Recent falls in energy prices have contributed to optimism that the rate of inflation may start to tail off, although food prices have continued to rise sharply.

The action in Montrose will be followed by another walkout at GHSK’s Irvine plant starting tomorrow, with additional actions planned for Irvine, Ware, Barnard Castle, Worthing and Ulverston over the remainder of the month. All told, it is estimated that several hundred employees will take action during May.

In a statement, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said that the pay offer is “a classic example of a corporation seeking to further boost its eye-watering profits at the expense of its workers,” pointing to GSK’s posting of £2.1 billion in profit for the first quarter of 2021.

“GSK could end this dispute right now by offering these workers a decent pay deal,” she added. “The owners should know we are not walking away.”

Unite also accuses GSK of escalating the dispute by walking away from negotiations.

The company acknowledged in a statement that “for many of our people, this past year has seen their cost of living rise rapidly.” However, it added that the offer made to its UK manufacturing workforce is “fair and reasonable.”

“We are therefore disappointed that the Unite union has decided to take industrial action, despite receiving a final offer, which includes a 6% increase on base pay, shift pay and allowances, plus a one-time discretionary payment of £1,300 – an overall package equivalent to a 9.7% increase.”