Engineering giant Rolls-Royce is to “gradually” restart operations at its 海角视频 manufacturing sites, according to a union which represents its workers.
On March 25, the company announced a halt to production due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Now, the Unite union, which represents thousands of Rolls-Royce staff, has said that production will resume this week at the firm’s sites in Derby, Bristol, Glasgow and Barnoldswick, in Lancashire.
The union said it had hammered out a package with the firm, which aims to protect its 20,000-strong 海角视频 workforce both in the workplace and financially.
Under the new safety regime, up to 60% of the workforce coud be employed in a rotation shift system.
Derby is by far Rolls-Royce’s largest site, home to its civil aerospace division, which designs, develops and manufactures jet engines.
Unite regional officer Tony Tinley, responsible for the union’s members at the 12,000-strong Derby workforce, said: “Our reps have worked really hard to achieve a stringent health and safety regime, with such features as a one-way system, which will enable the required employees to continue to work during the coronavirus emergency.
“Throughout the constructive talks with management, Unite has adopted a three-pronged approach: the vital importance of health and safety; protecting the jobs and incomes of our members in the short-term; and securing the long-term employment future of our members and the prosperity of the company.”
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A key feature of the deal is a year-long 10% pay delay, which will be paid back in the year starting April, 2021. This applies to Rolls-Royce’s global workforce, subject to local legal requirements.
Another key feature is that for the next three weeks, workers, who are not required, will be furloughed on full pay under the Government’s job retention scheme, which guarantees 80% of pay, with the company paying the other 20%.
Talks are on-ongoing as to what happens after the end of the month.
Mr Tinley said: “Aeroplanes are still flying, bringing in medicines and other supplies, so there is a current demand for Rolls-Royce’s superb products.
“What we have achieved at Rolls-Royce is a template that other companies could follow in terms of workers’ incomes and safety protections.
“We want to work constructively with aerospace companies across the region so when this emergency ends there is a strong platform to make the most of the aerospace engineering opportunities that will be available as the global economy recovers.”
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Paresh Patel, Unite regional secretary for the East Midlands, said: “Rolls-Royce is the jewel in the East Midlands manufacturing crown and we need to secure the future of the aerospace sector within the regional economy and beyond.
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“We have also to safeguard the supply chain, employing thousands of workers, which is heavily reliant on Rolls-Royce.
“Unite continues to make the case to government of the importance of the 海角视频’s manufacturing base and the need to protect firms and their workforces at this exceptionally difficult time for the economy.”