Glenrothes workers accept pay deal after strike action
GoogleA dispute over jobs, pay and conditions at a hydraulic equipment factory in Glenrothes has been resolved after workers accepted a 4% increase, according the Unite union.
More than 280 Bosch Rexroth workers have taken the deal, which also includes removing proposed redundancies and plans to change working practices, Unite said.
It comes after a week of strike action by staff in December, with more workouts planned for Monday.
The firm's management said they were pleased the offer had been accepted and that agreed changes would help give the site a sustainable future.
Unite industrial officer George Ramsay said the employer had "finally listened to its skilled and dedicated workers by removing the threat to slash pay and job security".
"The conciliation service Acas also played a valuable role in the resolution of the dispute which must be acknowledged," he added.
He said the deal had been secured because of the "determination of our members to stand firm."
A spokesman for the Bosch Rexroth Glenrothes management team said: "We are grateful for the positive engagement from employees and their representatives, and we firmly believe that these changes will help to achieve the sustainable future that benefits everyone at the Glenrothes plant."
What was the dispute over?
The union claimed that plans to impose short-time working - when hours are cut if there is not enough work - could see staff lose up to 40% of their take-home pay, equivalent to £1,000 per month.
It also said the German-owned firm proposed to impose an annualised hours system which "could put workers up to 70 hours in debt."
Unite said that, under this system, if a worker is paid for more hours than they have worked, an employer can recover the overpayment on a debt basis.
Bosch Rexroth had said the proposals aimed to maintain full employment at the Glenrothes site while facing disruptive market conditions.
He added: "We firmly believe the new proposals are essential to provide the necessary flexibility to respond to market fluctuations."
