Workers at a Tarmac facility in Derbyshire have suspended strike action following an improved pay offer.
More than 30 members of trade union Unite at the Alfreton Blocks Plant, in Somercotes, were due to walk out on 15, 16, 22 and 23 September over a pay dispute.
However, on Thursday (11 September) the union announced action would be halted after the company put forward an improved pay offer.
The employees include maintenance workers, quality technicians and fitters who make aerated concrete blocks for construction projects and pack them on the production line.
Unite said the action will be suspended to allow workers to vote on the new deal.
Earlier they had overwhelmingly voted to reject a pay offer of 4 per cent, which Unite said workers did not believe went far enough to address years of low pay.
Unite regional officer Paula Stephens said: “Following negotiations between Unite and Tarmac, a new pay offer has been put forward. We have therefore suspended strike action to allow our members to have their say on whether to accept the offer.”
However, Unite said that, depending on the outcome of this ballot, the following week’s industrial action could still go ahead.
Tarmac has said there will be no disruption to its customers as “robust contingency plans” are in place.
Unite said 93 per cent of its members at the plant voted to reject the 4 per cent pay offer.
The union claimed that Tarmac workers at other sites get “large bonuses” for meeting targets that its members involved in the dispute at Alfreton Blocks Plant are not eligible for.
Unite’s members at the Derbyshire plant have also asked for an increase in their shift allowance, but the union claimed the firm had “failed to negotiate”.
Staff have also complained about a “poor working culture” at the facility, Unite claimed.
The company said of the 65 employees at Alfreton, 20 had voted in favour of industrial action.
Tarmac has been contacted for comment.
Solihull-based Tarmac, formerly known as Lafarge Tarmac, is owned by multinational building materials firm CRH.
In its last reported full year to the end of December 2023, Tarmac Trading Ltd saw its pre-tax profit rise by a third to £168.1m as its turnover edged up to just over £2bn.
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Nicola Harley