Unite the union has confirmed that around 110 workers at print and publishing firm FLB Group in Dalkeith, which owns the Filofax and Letts brands, will take strike action this week in a dispute over pay.
The strike action began this morning at 6am and conclude at 05:59am on Thursday. It is the first of a series of 24 hour stoppages commencing every Wednesday into Thursday until 31 March.
Some 95.7% of the eligible workforce previously voted in support of strike action in late November on an 84.4% turnout.
The pay dispute originates from early 2021 when Unite’s members were informed by FLB that there would be no pay rise. Due to pressure from Unite, the company made several unsatisfactory offers that ended with a below inflation two-year offer of 2.75%.
Unite is demanding a 6% pay increase at a time when the cost of living is at a 10-year high. The Retail Prices Index stood at 7.1% in November 2021.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham pointed out that the FLB Group had a turnover of £20.3m in the year to April 2020 (although this was down from £24.3m the previous year) and awarded at least one company director £200,000 a year.
“The workers at FLB have the full support of their union in this dispute over jobs, wages and conditions - they are fighting back because they have simply had enough of being treated like an afterthought by management.”
Unite regional officer Carrie Binnie added: “FLB has made several derisory offers to its workers despite the company having a healthy order book.
“This action can still be averted if the company get back to us with an offer which matches our ask and one which the workers deserve - if they do not then rolling strike action will hopefully knock some sense into management.”
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