Union representatives have held talks with Siemens Gamesa after Hull staff at the wind turbine blade manufacturer raised concerns about shift patterns.
The company, which employs over 1,000 people at its Alexandra Dock facility, said union Unite had requested talks to “explore alternative shift patterns with reduced working hours.”
Siemens Gamesa said it had entered into a consultation over staff shifts and pay.
A spokeswoman said: “Earlier this year, we sent out a global employee survey to all staff to measure staff satisfaction and provide our colleagues with a voice.
“From the feedback received from our Union representatives and direct comments made in response to the survey, we learnt that some employees didn’t feel our shift pattern met their needs.
“Subsequently, the Union requested a review in an attempt to explore alternative shift patterns with reduced working hours.”
Siemens Gamesa has been manufacturing wind turbine blades in Hull since 2016.
Today, the company employs over 1,000 people in the city, and recently completed a blade order for the world’s largest offshore wind farm – Hornsea Project One.
The new talks with union Unite were partly triggered by staff at the factory raising issues about their shift patterns.
Siemens Gamesa it was committed to ensuring its staff “feel they have a good work-life balance.”
It said: “Several options for an alternative shift pattern have been discussed in detail with our union and employee representatives in line with our collective pay talks where we have been transparent about monitoring total headcount (through attrition only) to maintain production efficiency.
“These are now out to consultation. Throughout this timeframe, we have shared regular joint communications with the unions and employees through our usual engagement channels.
“We await the union’s feedback on our employees’ preferred shift pattern in due course and consultation will continue in partnership between us (Siemens Gamesa), the union and our colleagues.”
Siemens Gamesa operates in 90 countries around the world.
The manufacturer has grabbed headlines since its arrival in Hull, not least when one of its 75m-long turbine blades went on display to the public in Queen Victoria Square.
Siemens Gamesa has since unveiled plans to manufacture new, bigger blades, measuring 81.5m in length.
