Workers making headscarves destined for the Saudi Arabian market are taking industrial action in a pay dispute.


Staff at Lappet Manufacturing in Carlisle are on strike over “low wages” and “punishment targets”, according to GMB regional officer Michael Hall.


He said people were “extremely unhappy with the way things were at the moment”.


Lappet Manufacturing said it did not recognize Mr Hall’s “inflammatory” statements and that it was committed to resolving the dispute “as quickly as possible”.




The workers went on strike for the first time on Wednesday and also went out on Thursday and over the weekend.


A further eight days of strikes have been announced until mid-November, with workers prepared to take longer industrial action if necessary, Mr Hall added.




According to Mr Hall, Lappet Manufacturing’s Carlisle facility makes high-quality headscarves for the Saudi Arabian market.


“Downstairs, mainly men work on the looms and the women, who do the weaving, are upstairs,” he said. “These are highly skilled jobs.”


He said: “There doesn’t seem to be any structure to anyone’s wages,” and many of the women were on “minimum wages.”


“If the targets are not met, they are basically excluded from overtime,” he claimed.


Lappet Manufacturing said it “questioned the validity” of Mr Hall’s statements.


It said “penalizing targets, adverse conditions or overtime criteria” had not been raised by the union in the past eight months of negotiations.


A spokesperson said staff at the Carlisle branch had received more than 12 per cent in pay rises in 2022 and 2023, and had been offered a 3.9 per cent pay rise for 2024.


“We believe this is consistent with industry standards and within the company’s limitations,” the spokesperson said.


Mr Hall said the proposed pay rise was not good enough and that staff, including some who had worked at the site for more than 30 years, “deserved more”.



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