Unite the union has hammered out a package, with health and
safety at its heart, with engineering giant Rolls-Royce to
financially protect the 20,000 UK workforce during the
coronavirus emergency.
Rolls-Royce has major plants in Derby, Bristol,
Glasgow and Barnoldswick,
Lancashire.
Unite regional officer , responsible for the union’s
members at the 12,000-strong Derby workforce,
said: “Our reps have worked really hard to
achieve a stringent health & safety regime, with such
features as a one-way system, which will enable the required
employees to continue to work during the coronavirus
emergency.
“Throughout the constructive talks with management,
Unite has adopted a three-pronged approach: the vital importance
of health & safety; protecting the jobs and incomes of our
members in the short-term; and securing the long-term employment
future of our members and the prosperity of the
company.”
Two key features of the deal are:
- A 10 per cent pay delay for the year from April 2020, which
will be paid back in the year starting April 2021. This applies
to Rolls-Royce’s global workforce.
- For the next three weeks, workers, who are not required, will
be furloughed on full pay under the government’s job retention
scheme which guarantees 80 per cent of pay, with the company
paying the other 20 per cent. Talks are on-ongoing as to what
happens after the end of the month.
Rolls-Royce closed production at Derby last week, but is opening
up gradually this week, under the new safety regime, and up to 60
per cent of the workforce could be employed on a rotation shift
system.
Unite regional officer
added: “Airplanes are still flying bringing
in medicines and other supplies, so there is a current demand for
Rolls-Royce’s superb products.
“What we have achieved at Rolls-Royce is a template
that other companies could follow in terms of workers’ incomes
and safety protections.
“We want to work constructively with aerospace
companies across the region so when this emergency ends there is
a strong platform to make the most of the aerospace engineering
opportunities that will be available as the global economy
recovers.”
Unite regional secretary for the East Midlands Paresh Patel
said: “Rolls-Royce is the jewel in the East
Midlands manufacturing crown and we need to secure the future of
the aerospace sector within the regional economy and beyond. We
have also to safeguard the supply chain, employing thousands of
workers, which is heavily reliant on Rolls Royce.
“Unite continues to make the case to government of the
importance of the UK’s manufacturing base and the need to protect
firms and their workforces at this exceptionally difficult time
for the economy.”
