Engineering news
Staff at Meggitt Polymers and Composites near Loughbourough have gone on strike to protest over changes to the firms sickness policy.
280 shopfloor staff at the Shepshed site in Leicestershire began a 24-hour walkout at 6am on 21 October.
The dispute centres on how many times workers can take sick leave in a year before facing disciplinary action. Under current policy employees can be absent due to illness on four separate occasions over 12 months, however managers plan to reduce this to two times a year.
The change is to be adopted over suspicions that staff have been abusing the current sickness policy, however leaders from the GMB union say it would negatively impact on those who are genuinely ill.
Current policy dictates that workers are paid in full for sickness leave on the first two occasions within six months. However, they will lose two days pay if absent for a third time if it is taken within the same six months. They would also have to explain their absence to management, which could lead to a disciplinary procedure.
Willie Grant, senior GMB representative on the Shepshed site, said: "The company claim that sickness levels make the current scheme unaffordable yet they have not been able to quantify how much money the changes will save.
“We have very real concerns that these changes affect people when they are at their very lowest - when they are ill and none of us know when illness might strike. We need to protect this scheme for those in need now and in the future."
Alan Rock, vice president of organisation development and human resources at Meggitt Polymers & Composites, said: “Several hundred employees are entitled to support the strike but attendance thus far has meant there has been little impact to site operations.”
He added: “Relationships between the GMB union and the company remain positive and we are hopeful that the dispute can be resolved amicably.”
The strike ends at 05.59am on 22 October.
Meggitt Polymers & Composites manufactures rubber and silicon-based components for major aircraft manufacturers. These include flexible fuel tanks and coatings and composites that make up smart ice protection systems as well as helicopter interior panels and accessories.