STAFF at a pharmaceutical company in County Durham could spark industrial action after receiving a “disappointing” and “insulting” pay offer, despite the CEO of the business being paid a reported £8.2m per year.

Employees at the Barnard Castle branch of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) could walk out in April after recent pay negotiations between unions and the company broke down.

Workers at the Harmaire Road site have overwhelmingly turned down a ‘below inflation’ pay offer of four per cent, with GMB Union starting to ballot hundreds of members for strike action.

Read more: Durham’s Rail HQ effort still on track after official bid submission

The ballot of more than 150 workers closes on April 8.

If they vote to strike the workers, who produce vaccines and medicines, the staff could walk out at the end of April.

As part of the pay dispute, GMB has argued that, as workers struggle with the cost-of-living crisis, GSK CEO Emma Walmsley, enjoyed a 17 per cent pay rise, to £8.2m per year.

The union have also stressed that the “mega rich” GSK can afford the pay negotiations that its suggesting.

Read more: Martin Lewis outlines 3 things tax checks you should do by April or risk losing THOUSANDS

Julie Wynn, GMB organiser, said: "GSK’s stance towards our members is both disappointing and insulting.

"They have disgracefully failed to consider the enormous effort they’ve put in or risks they’ve faced working through the pandemic.

“Mega-rich GSK bosses expect GMB members to take a real terms pay cut during a crushing cost of living crisis,

“They are treating our members with complete contempt and face industrial action shutting down the whole site if they don’t restrain their corporate greed.”

Read more: Workers speak out after Amazon Durham 'U-turns' on nightshift

In response to the pay dispute, GSK has highlighted that the four percent pay offer is on top of a one-off ‘special’ award payment that will be offered to all company employees.

A spokesperson for the business said: “At GSK, we offer competitive pay packages to attract and retain the best people. Salary increases are awarded each year and are calculated based on a combination of factors including, company performance, affordability, and the external economic environment.

“Base salary is just one part of our pay packages, which also include an annual bonus and other benefits.

“We recognise the impact of current inflation rates for our people and believe the offer we have made to our UK manufacturing colleagues covered by collective bargaining agreements is fair and reasonable.

Read more: North Yorkshire school set to close after “inadequate” Ofsted report

“The offer on the table is a 4 per cent increase to base salary. This is in addition to a one-off special award to all GSK employees of one week’s pay - equivalent to around 2 per cent of base salary. The regular annual bonus also paid out above target for 2021.

“While it is disappointing that this offer has been rejected, we are committed to maintaining positive relationships with our skilled manufacturing workforce, and the unions that represent them, and will continue to engage constructively to try to find a solution.”

GSK has also moved to clarify the pay situation with its CEO, saying that some of the money gained was on a performance basis, and that her base pay increase is only two per cent.

Read more: 'Undercover' HGV will be on the A1 in North East to catch law-breaking drivers

The GSK spokesperson added: “I can confirm that Emma (Walmsley) has a larger portion of her pay based on performance than other colleagues in the company.

“Her increase in pay in 2021 is due to a higher level of bonus received compared to 2020, reflecting higher business and individual performance. Emma’s increase in base pay for 2021 was just 2 per cent.

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated County Durham Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054