GKN Aerospace staff in Filton balloted over strike action
Unite the Union members are involved in a pay dispute with the company
Workers at the aerospace supplier GKN Aerospace's base in South Gloucestershire are set to take strike action over pay.
Unite the Union is balloting its members who work in Filton over claims they've been given a below-inflation pay offer from the company.
GKN is a supplier of airframe and engine structures, electrical wiring and landing gear, with a presence on 90 per cent of today's aircraft.
Unite general secretary's Sharon Graham said:
"GKN's parent company CEO got the biggest bonus of any major company, yet it still sees fit to try and short-change our members.
“GKN needs to understand the Unite will not allow such profiteering on the backs of workers. GKN is hugely profitable and can easily afford a proper pay rise for these highly skilled and valuable aerospace workers."
Unite regional secretary Matt Allen said:
"Our members are furious at their pay being chipped away year after year and outpaced by other nearby companies. They just want a decent pay rise in the face of a cost-of-living crisis.
"Yet GKN claim there is no money all the while paying their directors millions in salary and bonuses. It is a disgrace and unless they come back with an improved offer, our members will be on the picket line."
We've approached GKN Aerospace's parent company Melrose Industries for a response.