| Anger as R-R bosses fail to share wage cut pain |
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| Written by Roy Beers | ||||||
 THE 700 East Kilbride Rolls-Royce workers enduring their second week of a voluntary four-day week are said to be “angry and disgusted” that senior management at the site are not included in the sanction.
The wage-slashing measure was agreed between unions and management in a bid to stave off further redundancies at the Nerston plant, which has already shed 250 employees this year.The firm claims the 20 per cent hours and pay cut is necessary to meet the “temporary” effects of recession, which have seen a substantial dip in orders, but refuses to say what will happen when the short-pay period, understood to be for four weeks, comes to an end. A spokesman would only say that the situation would be “reviewed” when the pay cut experiment ended “in a matter of weeks”, and refused to say whether the company would seek to make further redundancies. He stressed the firm was committed to full dialogue with the workforce, most of whom are represented by the union UNITE. But according to union convener Tam Mitchell, workers are united in their “anger and disgust” at senior management for apparently not abiding by the same terms as everybody else at the cash-strapped site. He told East Kilbride Mail: “You would think they would be setting an example at such a time, but it seems to be a case of one rule for them and another rule for everybody else. “The workers have gone along with this pay cut on a temporary basis in the hope of staving off further redundancies, but everyone is angry at the way management has behaved. “About ten” management and human resources staff are said to be enjoying full wages while the rest of the plant suffers the voluntary short pay sanction. It’s understood at least some of these staff are needed to run the business on a full time basis, Meanwhile East Kilbride MP Adam Ingram says he believes everything possible is being done to save jobs at the plant. “It has been said to me that four days is better than no days, and both management and workers deserve credit for trying to meet current difficulties as effectively as possible. “If there’s an upturn in orders then the company will need its skills base, and this aims to ensure jobs are preserved.” A company spokesman said: “We are discussing with employees at East Kilbride proposals to temporarily reduce working hours. “This is due to a reduction in demand and we will continue to review the situation. “We are endeavouring to be as flexible as possible in the long-term interests of our workforce, and we’re heartened by employees’ responsible approach to this proposal.”
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