AROUND 150 warehouse workers employed by Lineside Logistics based at Ford Dagenham are being balloted for strike action, Unite, the UK’s leading union, said today.
The workers have rejected a 2.5 per cent pay offer after cleaning and facilities workers employed by the same company at Ford Dagenham were offered a five per cent pay rise.
They are also balloting over the unacceptable state of the toilets at the site – including the constant smell of sewage and instances of blocked drains causing waste to backflow.
In addition, there is anger over union-busting after a Unite member who was actively campaigning for better welfare facilities was dismissed for spurious reasons.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Lineside Logistics workers are being treated as second class employees – expected to take smaller pay increases, put up with disgusting toilet facilities and have their colleagues targeted because they are in a union. Unite never accepts attacks on our members’ jobs, pay or conditions and Lineside Logistics’ Ford Dagenham workforce have their union’s full support.”
The ballot for strike action closes on 11 December. Strikes by the workers would disrupt the supply of engine parts to Ford’s Dagenham production line causing severe operational problems.
Unite regional officer Michelle Cook said: “There is still time for Lineside Logistics and Ford to avoid industrial action. But that will require an acceptable pay offer, serious commitment by Ford to speed up the process to fix the toilet and drainage problems and the reinstatement of the dismissed worker.”
