Low-paid workforce at highly profitable Enniskillen sawmill vote overwhelmingly to reject insulting pay offer
Unite members at Enniskillen-based sawmill Balcas are to commence the first of three 24-hour strike actions on Thursday (June 18). In the absence of an improved offer from management, the strike will be followed by two further one-day strike on June 25 and July 2 when the workforce is prepared to escalate the action further. The industrial action is a result of the workers rejecting the three per cent pay increase offered by management.
The strike will shut down all production of timber at the site.
Balcas is owned by Longford-based Glennon Brothers – a highly successful timber company which recently acquired the Pontrilas group which operates wood processing sites in Wales. In the latest accounts submitted for Balcas in Northern Ireland [end 2024] show the company had pre-tax profits of £18.7 million on turnover of £130.8 million – a profit margin of almost 15 per cent.
Meanwhile workers at the Enniskillen plant are paid barely above the minimum wage with new entrants being paid at the minimum wage itself.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Balcas is a highly profitable sawmill owned by Glennon Brothers. They can easily afford to pay their workers properly. A paltry increase to workers paid barely above the legal minimum is an insult. The workforce has the full support of Unite in their struggle for respect and fair pay.” Continue reading
