Ballynahinch staff strike in pay dispute

Ballynahinch staff strike in pay dispute

10 May 2017

A NUMBER of staff at the Nitronica electronics firm in Ballynahinch went on a one day strike last week in a dispute over pay.

The strike was organised by the Unite trade union which had appealed to management to reach agreement before staff were due to man a picket line last Friday morning. No deal was agreed.

The trade union says it wants the Ballynahinch firm to “get real” on pay improvement for low-wage workers and ahead of the industrial action, Unite’s regional co-ordinating officer, Davy Thompson, said members at Nitronica voted overwhelmingly to go on strike with their decision resulting in the firm having to shut down for a full day.

He continued: “The workforce at Nitronica is highly skilled and committed but has been offered little more than the bare legal minimum, significantly less than the independently determined living wage, calculated as the minimum necessary for a basic standard of living, which is currently £8.45 an hour.

“Strike action is a last resort for our members. This situation has resulted from the failure of management to address their workforce’s concerns over poverty pay.”

Mr Thompson said Unite is keen to adopt what he described as a “more constructive approach,” working with Nitronica to secure the company’s growth and future success. However, he said skilled workers cannot be expected to continue to work for little more than the bare legal minimum.

The trade union official added: “Unite is calling on management to step forward with a realistic pay offer for their workforce.” 

Nitronica managing director, John Mellon, said the company’s dealings with Unite are an “internal matter” and therefore it had no comment to make.

He added: “The Nitronica management team remains focussed on growing the business to further secure the jobs of our existing colleagues and to create new ones which can only have a much-needed positive economic impact for Ballynahinch and the surrounding areas.”