Union ballot over action

The move follows a dispute between management at Strebor Diecasting and members of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union over new working hours.

Bosses at the firm in Hutchinson Way claim they have had no formal notification from the union, however, over a failure to agree on the issue.

One of the workers has claimed that the company has issued a statement threatening to close the business if industrial action goes ahead, but management have denied this.

The worker told the Bury Times that failure to agree new working hours has resulted in a 20 per cent drop in take-home pay for foundry and furnacemen at Strebor.

He added: "The new owners have met with officials from the AEEU but have failed to put any offer on the table. The management have been informed by the AEEU that a ballot will take place this week and industrial action will no doubt follow." The worker also claimed that management had indicated that if industrial action goes ahead, the Radcliffe company will close and all machines and business will be relocated to the firm's headquarters in Burnley.

Mrs Maureen Haworth, Strebor personnel director, said: "I can say that at this time we have not had a formal failure-to-agree notice from the union. We reopened on Monday after a two-week summer break."

She said that only around 10 per cent of the 100-strong workforce were members of the AEEU and added that negotiations with the union had been taking place over several months.

And Mrs Haworth said she was not aware of any statement from management threatening to close Strebor should industrial action be taken.

The new owners took over Strebor in December. The company is involved in high pressure diecasting in zinc and aluminium and also manufactures locks and security devices.

The union did not wish to comment on the dispute.

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