FEARS are emerging of possible major disruptions to the supply chain at the north's largest manufacturing firm Spirit AeroSystems in Belfast if a group of DHL workers follow through with strike action next week.
The Unite union says DHL Supply Chain workers at the former Bombardier aircraft makers plan to go on strike over pay, starting with a five-day stoppage next week.
The DHL workforce is seen as wielding significant power and plays an essential role in production at Spirit AeroSystems.
In the factory and dispatch hub and wing production sites at Queen’s Island, DHL workers handle every single part - from the rivets to the wings.
And they also transport built parts between production lines and dispatch processed fuselage parts globally to Spirit sites in Morocco, Canada and the US.
After an industrial ballot, staff at DHL Supply Chain voted unanimously for strike action, and the Unite union yesterday served notice on the company that it will commence strike action next week.
Spirit AeroSystems says it will not comment on contractual discussions around DHL and its employees.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The industrial dispute centres over the poverty pay and poor conditions of DHL workers at the sites which even lags behind that in other DHL facilities.
“During the Covid shutdown DHL worldwide has made more than £1.2 billion in profit and received tens of millions of public funding under the furlough scheme.
“They can well afford to give the workforce a decent pay rise – and the members will have full union support in getting a decent deal.”
Susan Fitzgerald, who is Unite's regional coordinating officer in the north, has challenged DHL Supply Chain management and called on them to show their workers respect.
“These workers’ pay and terms and conditions are even inferior to those of DHL workers at other sites: they receive a poverty pay rate of £9.24 an hour, they work some of the longest hours and enjoy the least holidays.
“This ballot result – unanimous for strike action – demonstrates the strength of the workforces’ determination to win real improvements through strike action.
“Any disruption to production will be sole responsibility of DHL Supply Chain management who have failed to show any respect to the workers who create vast profits for them.
“If DHL want to deliver on their contractual obligations to Spirit AeroSystems, they need to move quickly to deliver significant improvements on pay and conditions”, Ms Fitzgerald added.
DHL Supply Chain, part of the DPDHL Group, is one of the world’s largest contract logistics providers, operating in more than 220 countries and with 300,000 employees worldwide.
