Union joy as ruling rewards loyalty of Rolls-Royce workers
UNIONS at Rolls-Royce in Derby have said that staff are "over the moon" after a court ruling that will help protect long-serving employees from being first in line for redundancy.
Judges sitting at the Civil Court of Appeal in London upheld a decision that veteran workers at Rolls-Royce should be rewarded for their loyalty by being put at the bottom of the redundancy list.
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elated: Mick Lomax says the decision will help Unite members right across the UK.
The case focused on a previous agreement between Rolls-Royce and unions that long service should be taken into consideration when it came to assessing which workers should be made redundant.
As part of the criteria, workers are given points for every consecutive year of service.
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But Rolls-Royce, which employs a combined total of about 12,000 people at its civil aerospace and marine divisions in Derby, feared that giving preference to long-serving workers over mainly younger colleagues would put it in breach of Government ageism legislation.
Union Unite was adamant that veteran workers should be rewarded for their experience and loyalty and challenged the firm's position.
After an appeal by Rolls-Royce, judges ruled on Thursday that the "points" agreement between the company and the union was not unlawful.
Mick Lomax, Unite's joint chief negotiator at Rolls-Royce in Derby, said that workers had been lifted by the decision.
He said: "There was elation on the shop floor. Everybody has been talking about it. We knew we were right.
"The company said it was simply seeking clarification, but if that was the case why did they appeal against the original decision?
"But we are over the moon. Our legal team did a fantastic job. The ruling also has benefits not just for Rolls-Royce workers, but Unite members all over the UK."
Derek Simpson, Unite's general secretary, said the decision could help protect thousands of other long-serving workers facing redundancy.
He said: "The ruling sets a precedent, where other factors are equal, for redundancy.
"It has always been clear to Unite that loyalty seen in length of service should be recognised when an employer takes the drastic step of making redundancy dismissals.
"We look forward to using this decision to help defend our members' rights in many other companies as well as Rolls-Royce."
In March, Unite said 90 Rolls-Royce staff at Derby had been told they were at "high risk" of losing their jobs.
In February, unions claimed the company was shedding 380 posts. The majority of these cuts were made through voluntary redundancies and through some staff being found posts elsewhere in the company.
But around 80 shop-floor workers and about 10 office staff still remained at risk of redundancy.
Mr Lomax said: "We are working hard with management to limit these redundancies. The figure now stands at around 80, with 11 office staff at risk and around 60 to 70 on the shop floor.
"We will continue to work hard to ensure as many people as possible stay in a job."
Comments
by criggy47
Monday, March 11 2013, 4:56AM
“Well after being in unite the union with Rolls Royce for over 30 years ,they are a waste of time ,they are afraid to go against a managements decisionn even if the management which buy the way is like a very clicky club ,it still operates on a face fit value and has its areas of bullying managers who darent change or they will fall of there ivory towers , the company needs exposing for how some workers get treated”
by steve, derby
Saturday, May 16 2009, 10:09AM
“you would be naive to think Rolls Royce will not work its way around this decision. They have already got rid of some people with over twenty years service through manipulating its matrix system of points. The courts were asked a question, they responded. If the management re-Hash the question( as i expect they will)and take it to a tribunal as a test case-watch this space. If the union leadership were stronger in thier negotiating for mitigation of job losses this would be a more impressive victory to crow about”
by Alan, Derby
Saturday, May 16 2009, 8:14AM
“"The company said it was simply seeking clarification, but if that was the case why did they appeal against the original decision?
This was never the case, there are certain sheep that work for the company that were told to win this case at all costs, people that have been loyal to the company over decades were affectively told you will not be wanted if and when redundancies were on the table.
Now the law says you cannot do this.
There will be alot of red faces in the boardroom this next few weeks, and alot of senior HR reps might be shown the door.”