DULUX paint workers are balloting for strike action after union officials claimed yesterday that management was “ratcheting up bad feeling” among the workforce.

The workers at the AkzoNobel works in Stowmarket, Suffolk, have overwhelmingly rejected a management offer of a 2.25 per cent backdated pay rise starting April 2019.

However, the Unite union has said that management has written to its members warning they would withdraw the deal entirely if they don’t agree to the offer by September 6.

Unite regional officer Neal Evans criticised the “hard-line attitude,” saying: “The management seems hell-bent on ratcheting up bad feeling in this dispute by sending this intemperate letter to our members who don’t take well to threats.

“It is unhelpful in the extreme to threaten to withdraw the uplift in the pay offer from April 1 this year.

“The management should drop the threats and divisive tactics that are besmirching employment relations — and return to the negotiating table to reach a fair pay award for our members.”

However a spokesperson for AkzoNobel said: “AkzoNobel regrets that Unite has taken the decision to reject a pay offer of 2.25 per cent, backdated to April 2019, on behalf of their members at Stowmarket, and has balloted for industrial action.

“As a responsible employer with good and active engagement with our colleagues and their union representatives, and in a time of economic uncertainty, we firmly believe we made a strong and reasonable offer which balances our need to be a sustainable business with a fair settlement for our colleagues.

“We recognise that we have been involved in extensive negotiations with Unite since March and in discussions we have already compromised significantly. 

"We remain committed to maintaining the strong relationship we have with our colleagues at Stowmarket and are proud to have several generations of families working at the site and an extremely low staff turnover.  

"We very much hope that our colleagues and their union representatives will reflect on the offer made and accept it."