£5,000 payout secured for Telford Brintons staff
Workers at Telford carpet maker Brintons will be paid £5,000 in back pay by the manufacturer.
The company had planned to close the yarn spinning factory at Harcourt, Halesfield, and move the operation to Portugal and Poland instead.
But this plan was suspended after the coronavirus lockdown was introduced in March.
The GMB union said Brintons had promised workers a £5,000 payment for staying with the firm until the doors closed in April. This money has now been secured.
The union had previously accused it of using the pandemic as an excuse to pull out of "a redundancy package to cover management-encouraged overtime worked in the final months of the Telford site’s operation".
GMB organiser Rebecca Mitchell said: “The workers at Brintons have empowered themselves and secured pay justice in this uncertain time.
“This is one less weight on their shoulders as union members soldier on through the pandemic together.
“GMB members have never stopped fighting for what’s right, and all the workers should be proud of what they’ve achieved here.
“Companies will think twice before putting their hands in workers’ pockets again.
“We’re pleased that Brintons summoned the courage to do the right thing after several weeks of stalling and delay - we're now waiting on them to confirm whether they still intend to move production out of the UK.”
Brintons has said: "In line with the Government’s announcement of the furlough programme on March 20 we have opted to suspend the permanent closure of our Telford plant.
"On March 25 in line with the safe working practices during Covid-19, we closed our entire UK operations including our Telford and Kidderminster sites placing staff on furlough.
"This gives the organisation flexibility when we start up again after emerging from the pandemic which is having a dramatic affect on businesses around the country and overseas.
"All our members’ statutory rights under law are protected and they will remain employed and earning during a period when securing alternative employment will be extremely difficult.
"The government and employers like Brintons are supporting employment at a difficult time."
