Bosses at Xplore Dundee have been accused of “dirty tricks” after citing the closures of major city employers in a bid to stop strike action among staff.
About 200 people will walk out at the firm later this month – leading to cuts in the number of services running.
Union officials and company managers are involved in a stand-off over a 7% pay offer, which most staff have rejected.
Now, one staff rep has accused Xplore Dundee of “putting up pictures of Timex, NCR and Michelin” in offices in an apparent attempt to prevent the strike – which could run until September.
Dougie Maguire, regional officer for trade union Unite, told The Courier: “They have started a campaign of anti-trade union activity in the workplace, they have been up to all sorts of dirty tricks.
“They’ve been putting up pictures of Timex, NCR and Michelin with the question ‘where are they now and why?’, trying to suggest that it was the trade unions that shut these places down.”
Timex was at the centre of a number of industrial disputes in the 1980s and 1990s before closing down after 47 years.
Michelin’s factory in Douglas closed in 2020.
NCR has had a presence in the city for more than 75 years but its workforce now is much lower than the 6,000 it had at its peak.
A spokesperson for Xplore Dundee confirmed the company had highlighted “a catalogue of tragic closures over the years” as part of an “intense” communications campaign for staff.
Mr Maguire said: “We’re desperate to get them back around the table for them to make an improved offer but it seems to me that they are burying their heads in the sand.
“In normal circumstances, when we get into a situation like this, we’re always looking to sit down with an employer and we want a negotiated settlement.
“We don’t want to cause any disruption to people’s daily lives.
“But they’re throwing the general public and their needs to the wolves here.”
He added: “I now think that they are trying to bring workers in from other areas to put some kind of skeleton service in, but who knows whether that will happen or not?
“But Dundee cannot operate without buses.”
Which Xplore buses will be running in Dundee during strike?
Strike action starts on June 12.
Xplore buses will run to Sunday timetables every day with some additional morning journeys and reduced evening journeys.
The firm says this means it will be meeting “95%” of its customers’ journey needs.
A spokesperson for Xplore Dundee said: “We reiterate that the 7% pay offer put forward was a fair offer and we have negotiated with the union in good faith, also offering alternative options which have all been rejected.
“It is regrettable that bus services in Dundee will be affected by Unite’s action, whilst staff in other parts of the McGill’s Group around Scotland – including the maintenance department in Dundee – have agreed a deal that is up to, or equal to, the pay rise offered to drivers in Dundee.”
A statement to customers added: “We are really sorry to the people of Dundee for this situation.
“You have our commitment that we will work hard to minimise the impact of this strike action – and we thank you for bearing with us.”
Specific timetable information is still to be released.
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