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15 November, 2010
After several months of futile bargaining with employers’ grouping Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI), members of Unite the Union in the UK will vote in the coming weeks on industrial action. The bargaining committee for Unite’s corrugated paperboard industry, representing 2,500 workers at 50 UK factories, will meet tomorrow to discuss details in issuing the ballot.
Last week, Unite announced that paperworkers in the corrugated sector voted by a nine-to-one margin to reject a 2010 pay increase of 2.1% by the CPI. That offer was put forward after weeks of delay by the employers’ organisation. Contract talks began in late July and the 2009 agreement expired on 1 September 2010.
Unite National Officer Peter Ellis
“We’re dealing with a group of companies that had a very good 2009 and this year, they continue to make profits,” said Unite National Officer Peter Ellis. The three major companies comprising the corrugated paperboard talks are D.S. Smith, SmurfitKappa, and SAICA. The 2009 increase was 1%.
“At the talks in early October, we could have settled on a modest improvement to the offer, but the CPI insisted that a pay settlement at less than half of the retail price index was as far as it would go,” said Ellis. The union had lowered its pay demands to 2.5% in order to achieve accord but with the CPI’s lack of movement, the divide might now widen.
Ellis insisted that median wage awards in other UK industries do not apply to the corrugated sector because the packaging industry for food, beverage, and other consumer uses has not suffered compared to other industries. “We will not settle for a median offer,” he said.
By UK labour statute, unions must allow workers at least a three-week voting period for balloting on industrial actions. That must be followed by a seven-day period for employers to respond with a possible revised offer.