Posted on: 12 December 2024

Dear GMB member,

Following on from the joint communication issued earlier today we want to update you on the pay negotiations. As stated, the company provided an in depth an thorough explanation of how pay is calculated in order to demonstrate how Wienerberger members were not at a detriment because of the way the hourly rate is structured. Whilst we acknowledge that according to the demonstration people are getting paid comfortably above the minimum rate, and have their sick pay, pension etc calculated on gross earnings, both parties agree that we need a clearer and simplified pay structure that is easy to understand.

At the ACAS negotiations we asked Wienerberger to revise the offer with a percentage to apply to the basic hourly rate, rather than all rates, to see if that would have a more positive impact on peoples pay. The company went away and did that in good faith and presented an alternative proposal on Tuesday to the NNC.

Your reps have gone away and compared the previous balloted offer to the new offer and unfortunately, due to the complexities of the pay structures, the amended offer would not be beneficial to members compared to the previous offer.

We have exhausted the ACAS process and the company are clear that there is no more room for negotiation. With the previous rejection being at such a small margin (4%) we have not reached the GMB industrial action mandate threshold as set out in the rule book. We are therefore in a position where we must accept the offer as detailed below:

A 2-year deal consisting of the following:

September 1^st 2024

• 2.5% on all elements of pay
• Removal of the waiting day during sickness absence

September 1^st 2025

• A pay increase equal to the CPI figure published in June 2025 PLUS 0.5% or 2% whichever is higher

In Solidarity,

Charlotte Brumpton-Childs

National Officer

Posted on: 15 November 2024

Dear Member,

Following on from the communication we sent you last week Wienerberger have requested that we enter ACAS negotiations to try and settle the dispute before any industrial action is taken. We have agreed to this and are now in the process of setting up the negotiation meeting.

We anticipate that this will happen in the next fortnight, diaries allowing, and will update you once this has taken place.

As explained in the last communication the dispute with Wienerberger is around a pay offer for 2024 that does not meet members expectations as well as the issue with members hourly rate being less than the national minimum wage.

Using attendance and production bonuses etc. to top up pay to meet the legal minimum threshold means members lose out on pension contributions, sick pay and shift premium calculations. Our research suggests that Wienerberger are the only employer in the brick industry to calculate pay this way and means that their employees are not receiving a competitive or comparative employment package.

Our aim is to resolve the above issues through meaningful negotiations, and we hope that the ACAS talks will help with that. Should that not be the case then the next step for GMB would be to ballot members for industrial action. If we end up there then we will provide more information on what that looks like and expected timelines but for now it is helpful if you check that we have all the right contact and address information for you so that you can be included in any communications going forward.

In Solidarity,

Charlotte Brumpton-Childs

GMB National Officer

Posted on: 4 November 2024

Dear Member,

Our ballot has concluded and a majority of GMB members have voted to reject the pay offer presented, it was made clear on the ballot that the next likely step if it was rejected would be to enter into a dispute which could include industrial action.

When canvassing members it is clear that their key issues were:

• The 2024 offer needs to be improved

• The hourly rate being below the NMW – members feel very strongly that topping up wages with attendance bonuses and the like is not right. The knock on impact on shift premiums, sick pay and pensionable earnings is huge. This coupled with the budget announcement this week that National Minimum Wage will rise by a further 6.7% in April 2025 means that members are no longer willing to wait for this issue to be resolved.

We have written to the business telling them the above and I will be meeting with your reps shortly to discuss next steps. In our agreement there is a step before industrial action where we use ACAS to try and mediate a solution, if this is not possible then it is highly likely that we will end up in a dispute with Wienerberger over pay which includes industrial action.

At this stage it is important to stay in touch with your rep to keep up to date with what is happening and to make sure we have your most up to date information, this includes:

1. Workplace (which factory you're currently at is really important)
2. Job title
3. Home address (we have to do industrial action ballots via post)
4. Contact information (we will send emails and texts letting members know latest developments, make sure you get yours)

Ring your local GMB office to check if you think your information might be out of date or tell your rep.

If there isn't a rep in your workplace or on your shift consider volunteering to be a spokesperson/contact so we can make sure all members are getting their information quickly and their questions answered.

In solidarity ,

Charlotte Brumpton-Childs

National Officer