Unite the Union, Ireland Region

Seagate management must now engage with union reps and negotiate voluntary recognition deal

In an historic ballot at Seagate, the Springtown-based manufacturer of external hard drives, workers have voted overwhelmingly for trade union recognition with Unite the union.

The vote was taken among the 540 manufacturing specialists at the company and is the result of a multi-year campaign by union activists at the company and Unite’s organising department.

The ballot followed a protracted battle with the statutory process taking over a year. In the run up to the ballot, the employer brought in union busters one of whom had previously been engaged by Amazon in union-busting drives in the USA.

Despite these frustrations and facing a well-financed anti-union campaign, the workers remained determined and focused on their right to collective bargaining. Following the result, the employer has 30 days to negotiate a voluntary collective bargaining agreement with the union or else have a statutory one imposed by the industrial court.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This is a tremendous victory for the workforce at Seagate. It has taken years of effort by union activists, the organising team and our senior officials. 

“They took everything that was thrown at them by a management which was determined to prevent a union from being recognised. Workers have voted for hope and a union and rejected the divisive fear narrative that has been peddled by the union busters.

“Now we have won recognition rights, Unite will redouble its efforts to deliver for the jobs, pay and conditions of the workers at Seagate.”

As part of the pre-ballot union-drive, Unite regional secretary for Ireland Susan Fitzgerald addressed the workforce in a series of mass meetings at the factory. She said: “This is a huge win. Seagate is one of Northern Ireland’s leading manufacturers and if a union can be built there – in the face of such a professional and well-financed anti-union campaign, then it can be built anywhere. 

“This result will be noticed by workers right across the economy, most especially in the northwest. Now is the time for workers to join a union and secure a collective voice. 

“Seagate bosses tried to put every obstacle they could to prevent their workers securing union recognition but our members had the determination needed to carry their campaign to victory. 

“Management must now ditch their anti-union tactics and instead sit down with the union reps to negotiate a voluntary collective bargaining deal, or else face the imposition of a statutory agreement.”