A union representing Rolls Royce workers has rejected the offer of a £2,000 one-off payment offered by the firm to help staff with the rising cost of living.
Of the 14,000 staff at Rolls Royce who were eligible for the payment, 11,000 members are unionised.
The payment was intended for junior management and shop floor staff.
Unite said the offer “falls far short of the real cost of living challenges which our members are experiencing.”
The lump sum was due to begin being rolled out in August, starting with the 3,000 non-unionised staff before being paid to the remaining 11,000 unionised workers.
Unite’s regional secretary Paresh Patel says the union was still in negotiations with Rolls Royce about the pay offer.
News of the pay offer emerged on Monday night, and was later confirmed by Rolls Royce.
However, Unite said: “The fact that Rolls Royce has made this announcement in the way that it has certainly in our view undermines the trade union and the negotiating position that should be between the employer and the unions on this matter.”
Rolls Royce had also offered workers a 4% increase in pay, back-dated to March. A Rolls Royce spokesperson had told newsmen it is “the highest annual pay rise for at least a decade” for its shop floor staff.
There are ongoing discussions with unions about a pay settlement for 2022-2023, the spokesperson said, and the cost of living issue is to be a factor in those negotiations.
Earlier this month Lloyds Bank announced measures to help staff cope with rising costs, as energy bills continue to soar and UK inflation hits a 40-year high of 9%.
Discover more from LN247
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.