WORKERS in Keighley have taken part in industrial action this week in a dispute over a device which measures workloads.

A regional representative for the union Unite said about 40 members of staff at the Keighley KONE site either went on strike on Tuesday (April 7) or took part in action short of a strike.

He said he understands that the lift and escalator supplier employs roughly 200 people at its Keighley premises in Worthbridge Road.

Unite says the dispute relates to a tracker device in KONE vehicles, known as VAMS.

The union is arguing that VAMS should not be used to verify time sheets, site arrival and leaving times as it is "unreliable".

Unite national officer Linda McCulloch said: “Evidence has shown the mileage recorded by VAMS for business or private use is not accurate and exaggerates the amount of mileage being completed.

"It is ‘a spy in the cab’ that does not function properly, so it is understandable that our members are angry.

“This will lead to employees being wrongly assessed for private mileage, and could lead to wrong deductions from wages and ultimately disciplinary situations.”

The union is calling for a framework document to iron out the alleged problems with VAMS.

It says that in addition to strike action, some of its members employed by KONE are also observing an overtime ban, and bans on night-time call-outs.

Unite says it is planning further strikes over the next 12 weeks unless an agreement is reached.

In addition to Keighley, KONE also has sites at Chertsey in Surrey, Gateshead, Glasgow and Warrington.

The Keighley News contacted KONE for comment on Tuesday afternoon, but no one had responded by the time the paper went to print.