Following the news that Villeroy & Boch has proposed closing one of the kilns at its Staffordshire manufacturing facility, the union representing workers at the site has warned it “will not stand by and let workers pay the price”.
News of the potential closure broke yesterday, with Villeroy & Boch acknowledging that if the closure goes ahead as proposed, up to 100 jobs could be impacted at the facility.
In a statement to kbbreview, Justine Jones, a GMB union organiser, said the closure would be “bad for business and bad for Staffordshire”.
She continued: “We [are] on the verge of a house building revolution in this country, demand for UK manufactured sanitary goods could be at record highs.
“Our ceramics firms are once again feeling the pinch of sky-high energy costs; our union will not stand by and let workers pay the price”.
GMB union says it represents workers across the ceramics and pottery industry. It is the same union that represented workers at the Villeroy & Boch-owned Ideal Standard facility last year, when colleagues threatened to strike over a pay dispute. Fortunately, the strike threats eventually ended in an “agreed resolution” last August, after successful pay negotiations took place between the company and the union.
Announcing the proposed kiln closure yesterday, Villeroy & Boch’s UK managing director, Lisa Whitfield, said: “This is an incredibly difficult announcement to make. We recognise the impact this proposal will have on our employees, their families, and the community and we are grateful for the dedication and hard work of our site manufacturing team.”
Villeroy & Boch says it will now enter a 45-day collective consultation period with the trade unions and employee representatives in Armitage.