Brush Electrical engineers strike in Leicestershire over 'fire and rehire' dispute

Engineers have been on strike for five weeks

Workers at an engineering firm have gone on strike in a row over new contracts.

Employees for Brush Electrical Machines, which makes generators, claim the Leicestershire company plans to fire them and rehire them on inferior terms.

They have been picketing outside the company's base in Ashby-de-la-Zouch for five weeks.

Brush said it was "still seeking to reach a sensible arrangement".

Dale Clarke is among those unhappy about the new contracts

Dale Clarke, who has worked at the company for 16 years, said he stood to lose "about £10,000-15,000 a year" if the new contracts come in.

His new contract was inferior "on pretty much every level", he added.

He said the row had "exacerbated" the "mental anguish" workers suffered while travelling during Covid restrictions for their job.

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"We spent all of 2020 travelling the globe during Covid expecting some sort of reward, but instead we were told these cuts were necessary," he said.

"We tried to negotiate in good faith, but it was made clear very very early on that we either accept what was put in front of us or they would just terminate the contracts and enforce it on us."

Kaushik Galliara has worked at the company for 53 years

Kaushik Galliara, who has worked at the company for 53 years, said the present management structure had taken advantage of workers.

"It was a very good family company years ago, [until] the present management took over," he said.

"It wasn't like a family again - they broke the trust."

Owen Barrett said he has left the company over the new contracts

Owen Barrett said he had accepted a new job at a different company rather than accept the new contract at the firm that has employed him since he was an 18-year-old apprentice.

"It feels awful to be honest, Brush is the only place I've ever worked," he said.

"I just feel really betrayed by them."

A company spokesperson said: "We have been consulting with the workforce and its representatives for more than five months and are still seeking to reach a sensible arrangement with each individual to permit the business to continue."

The firm did not respond when asked by the BBC whether it was pursuing a "fire and rehire" strategy.