Strike At Tyneside Safety Glass

Unite members at Tyneside Safety Glass continued their strike action on Thursday over a pay freeze and changes to working hours.

Unite called the action at the Gateshead firm after the company imposed a pay freeze for the second year running combined with changes to shift patterns.

In some cases, it will add an extra 10 hours to the working week, taking some workers up to the maximum 48-hour working week allowed under the European Working Time Directive.

According to Unite, bosses have told union reps that they intend to break the union on site and, over the past two years, intimidation and bulling by management has lead to staff being informed of shift changes with minimal notice, with no consideration to a work-life balance or family-friendly policies.

Following negotiations with the company Unite regional officer Bill Green said: "We have offered a range of options to the company, but these were all rejected out of hand and even after the intervention of Acas it became clear that this dispute is not just about pay.

"Unite understands the company's personnel manager told our representative 'that the company had beaten the union before and would beat it again.'

"Despite these attempts to frighten and bully our members, their comments have not intimidated them but rallied them together and made them stronger.

"We are dismayed that management have refused to hold meaningful talks to settle the dispute. We hope this strike will send a message to the company that they need to return to negotiations to bring the dispute to an end."

Workers started strike action on Monday and a further seven-day strike is planned from Monday October 4.