Usdaw to ballot members on industrial action

Date: 11 November 2020

BCM Fareva dispute: Usdaw to ballot on industrial action at the Nottinghamshire based manufacturer of Boots products

Usdaw, the trade union for staff at BCM Ltd is to ballot members on industrial action in a year-long pay dispute with BCM Ltd, which is part of the Fareva group and is based at the Boots site in Beeston, Nottinghamshire.

Usdaw has expressed frustration at the company’s continued refusal to make a pay offer for staff who have worked throughout the coronavirus pandemic and urges the manufacturer to end their pay freeze before the union is forced into the last resort of industrial action.

Daniel Adams – Usdaw National Officer says: “Following extensive dialogue with BCM Fareva for over a year, we have been unable to reach an agreement on the 2020 Pay Review. Despite Usdaw indicating we were willing to consider various options and compromises to reach agreement, at no time have the company put forward any offer other than a pay freeze, nor shown any willingness to compromise, in an attempt to achieve a negotiated resolution to our discussions.

“Our members have continued to work throughout the coronavirus pandemic without additional reward or recognition and understandably believe they deserve better.

“It is incredibly disappointing that we have found ourselves in the position where we feel we have no option but to ballot for industrial action. Having balloted our members on the company’s final offer of a pay freeze, which was overwhelmingly rejected, the Union had agreed to pause discussions given the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. 

“When talks resumed the company continued to refuse to make any offer in relation to pay. We undertook a consultative industrial action ballot which showed a majority of members were willing to take action. The company maintain that they will not be making any investment in pay this year and as such, we are now looking to proceed to a formal industrial action ballot. Industrial action is always a last resort for our members and it is with significant regret that we have been forced into this position.

“We have confirmed to the business that we remain available for talks at any time and want to achieve a negotiated resolution to the current situation.  However, for those talks to be meaningful we would need to see some willingness to compromise from the company.”