MORE than 300 workers at Mettis Aerospace in Redditch are set to strike for 24 hours starting this Wednesday, December 18 because of a bitter pay dispute.

Staff at the company, which has £100 million worth of orders on its books, voted by 80 per cent for strike action, after last ditch talks with management about pay for 2014 broke down.

Unite, the country’s largest union which represent the employees, had asked for a five per cent pay increase.

The company, owned by San Francisco-based venture capitalist Saints Capital Group Chamonix Lp, had already imposed a pay freeze for 2013, with two per cent on the table for the following three years, 2014 -16.

Unite regional officer Bob Shaw said: “What the firm is offering is six per cent over four years. This will mean the incomes of the workforce falling dramatically behind the soaring cost of living and is completely inadequate.

“It is an insult to a dedicated, hard-working and skilled workforce – and it’s the employees that are an organisation’s greatest asset.

“This has to be seen in the context of the company’s full order book of £100 million in an industry where growth is expected to be five per cent year-on-year."

He added: "We call on the management to enter into meaningful and constructive talks so that an equitable settlement can be reached. Unite’s door is open for talks at any time.”

The Windsor Road company manufactures engine and airframe components for all the major aerospace and aircraft builders, such as Boeing and Rolls Royce.

The strike is set to run throughout Wednesday and end Thursday, December 19 at 6am.

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