Unite union members working at Red Funnel have rejected a pay offer by the cross-Solent operator, sparking fears that strikes could take place once again if a new deal cannot be struck.
Members were balloted this week as to whether they wish to accept an offer put forward by Red Funnel, the results of which have now been made available.
A total of 112 staff members responded, with 60 voting to reject the offer, 42 voting to accept the offer and 10 deciding not to vote at all.
It was in Summer 2022 that multiple strikes were held by aggrieved Unite members. Those strikes eventually ended in August 2022 when a 2-year pay deal was agreed upon which saw rises of up to 18.3% for the lowest-paid workers.
Red Funnel has been informed of this latest ballot result, with discussions set to continue. But if the situation hits a stalemate then the union could decide to ballot members on whether or not to take industrial action.
A spokesperson at Red Funnel has said:
“We have been made aware that one union has rejected the pay offer we proposed. We continue to engage in dialogue and will continue with the pay talks to meet an acceptable agreement.”
The workers want to be very careful, in the
current economic climate.
Red Funnel could sack them and replace them with
Migrants who would happily do the work for
less.
It does seem a little odd given how unreliable the service is (and yes I accept that’s not down to the workers) that they are demanding higher wages and threatening to go on strike, when the public is already pretty fed up with them.
It just seems like the wrong time, given the circumstances and the public perception of the service provided.
Very true, they are not doing themselves or
passengers any favours.
In todays tough economic climate, they should be
grateful they have a job.
No good crying afterwards, with Vesta’s making
hundreds of employees redundant, there are not
enough jobs available on the island.
After the P&O debacle, I think that there are regulations in place to discourage that practice.
Wont make much difference if they stike as its a shit service anyway hardly runs a full timetable most weeks..dump of a company the poor staff know it’s crap i don’t blame them..
I would think twice about striking at this time. With RF not running even 3/4 of there services.. With the NI for employees going up there could well be a cut in staff.
Also friends have been one of the unlucky ones to be booked on one of there nonrunners… and having to go to WL and pay over another £100.
and all they got back from RF was £30 someone taking the piss….