Massive export order slashed
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A CONTAINER manufacturing order worth E2 million has had to be turned away by York Trailer because of an "unofficial dispute which no one seems to know anything about."
Company chairman Fred Davies told CM: "We are haying to turn away massive orders because of bloodymindedness on the part of a handful of shop-floor workers.
"We just don't know what the trouble is, but I suspect that the men on the shop floor are fed up with their earnings being swallowed up in income tax.
In the report, Mr Davies said there were excellent trading figures, "with one exception — Northallerton, where there has been an operating loss for three months."
And the news comes only a few days 'after the company published its quarterly trading figures showing a £569,000 trading profit after tax.
Mr Davies added: "I'm baffled. A handful of men are taking this unofficial action, and even the unions don't know what it's all about."
But sales promotion manager Mark Carrington had another story to tell.
"Some of the men just don't want to be tied down to strict delivery dates," he said.
When a company like the one in America wants to give us £2 million in export orders they obviously want to know when the job is going to be completed. But the men don't want to be tied down."
Mr Carrington went on: "We don't want to take on work when the men are acting up like this. 'it's so stupid."
But plant convenor Tommy Burns said: "So far as the AUEW (Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers) is concerned, there is no official or unofficial action being taken by any of our members.
"If a handful of workers are not pulling their weight, we certainly don't know anything about it."
"But if some people are holding up production, then they should be named."
York Trailers employs a total workforce of 1,700, of which 400 are employed at Northallerton.
At the moment the company is making an order for 1,500 containers for export to the Soviet Union. It should have been completed in March, but there are still about 200 to be made.