Staff at Dewsbury and Cleckheaton carpet firm to strike over pay dispute

Unite members will begin continuous strike action at two Westex Carpet sites in Cleckheaton and Dewsbury tomorrow after the company tabled a pay offer of 2.2 per cent, which was rejected by the membership.

Unite regional officer Kelvin Mawer said: “After its initial penny-pinching pay offer was rejected, Westex Carpets dug themselves into a hole by pettily rescinding it and implementing an insulting pay freeze that was justified with a paper thin excuse about cash flow.

“This strike will severely impact Westex’s production capabilities and was entirely avoidable. Our members will not back down or be fobbed off with empty claims about financial constraints that are contradicted by Westex’s pre-tax profits of £5m a year.

“Unite urges Westex’s management to deescalate this dispute by ending the pay freeze and returning to the negotiating table.”

According to the union the company cited financial difficulties for the pay freeze, despite making pre-tax profits of £5.44m during 2018/19 and £5.164m in 2018/17.

The membership believes that Westex Carpets’ profits will continue at the current level and voted in favour of strike action that will last until the dispute is settled.