Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

98% of the staff at Acrílicos Vallejo join the first day of an indefinite strike

The workers at the Acrílicos Vallejo paint factory in Vilanova i la Geltrú have begun a partial indefinite strike - lasting two hours per shift - with "total" support. According to the CGT, the mobilisation has had the support of 98% of the workforce on the first day of strikes.

The president of the company committee, Patricia Pérez , explains that the main demands are an "improvement of safety and hygiene" in the plant in view of the "major deficiencies" in the maintenance of the building and the "obsolescence" of the machinery. The staff is also demanding a 15% salary increase, in line with the increases in the company's turnover, while in the social sphere they are demanding the creation of a protocol against harassment.

The president of the company committee, Patricia Pérez, explains that the main demands are an "improvement in safety and hygiene"

Vallejo Acrylics, based in Vilanova i la Geltrú and with a workforce of 74 employees, manufactures and supplies paints to more than 500 clients in 70 countries. The company is one of the international leaders in the world of modelling aimed at fans of miniature games and model building, such as Warhammer .

(Google translated article)


From Reddit:

The workers at Vallejo are on strike for better pay and working conditions…

“Today we started an indefinite strike at Acrylicos Vallejo. Today we have decided to say ENOUGH for three very important points:

The bad working conditions, the danger that the workers suffer in terms of facilities and machinery.

We ask for a wage increase, since the gap between managers and workers is abysmal and we are going through a precarious salary situation in our lives. We are asking for 15% and the company has said no to all negotiations.

On the other hand, we are asking for an active harassment protocol to protects us and that works properly.
That is why we are here and, until the company decides to sit down with us to negotiate, we will not stop demonstrating and we will continue in the struggle”

Since the new redesign/formula I find that availability has been hit and miss and struggle to find the full 80 paints boxed set in the UK.

These news will make availability even worse.

as always, solidarity forever. hope they're able to achieve something here

 StudentOfEtherium wrote:
as always, solidarity forever. hope they're able to achieve something here

Word.

I attribute this to Vallejo being bought out by a private equity company last year.

 NAVARRO wrote:
Since the new redesign/formula I find that availability has been hit and miss and struggle to find the full 80 paints boxed set in the UK.

These news will make availability even worse.

Honestly I've noticed that as well. My FLGS Vallejo paint rack has been mostly empty for months now. Im not beholden to any particular paint brand so I can replace it with Army painter or Scale75 easily enough but it has been odd that I haven't seen much in the stores lately.

There's an important point missing here: it is an indefinite strike but alo a partial one, as they're only striking 2 hours per day.

For me the main take from this is that their reputation is going down the drain. Takes decades to build one but apparently only 2 or so to destroy clients confidence.

They may have great formulas and prices but if they are not reaching us and we cannot get them its a bit of pointless exercise.

The fact they been bought and now we are seeing strikes makes me wonder if its even worth investing more on the new line.

Unlike back then now we have plenty of options when it comes to paint ranges.

To be fair, 2 hours less a day hurts a lot, but that also allows them to carry it out for long because people don't realise just how much money you lose on strike which makes it difficult for workers to have theur rights defended... Hope this situation finds a suitable end for all parties involved

Also it will end up being more than 2 hours that you lose per worker because there's the time they down tools at the start and the time it takes them to catch up and get back into production again once their strike time is over. Not to mention that whilst they can keep working; the constant swapping over of staff is highly disruptive to the workflow

 NAVARRO wrote:
Since the new redesign/formula I find that availability has been hit and miss and struggle to find the full 80 paints boxed set in the UK.

These news will make availability even worse.

Went into a new shop here this morning that just opened today. It's not a hobby shop specifically, just somewhere that has some warhammer kits and a few other bits of hobby stuff, yet the Vallejo paint rack was missing a lot of the paints it should have had. Thought it was a bit strange but i guess that explains it if there's a lack of availability in general.

Solidarity

Good luck for the workers! Solidarity!

Solidarity forever!

Solidarity!

Solidarity.

Is everyone stopping buying paints until its resolved?

 Rolsheen wrote:
Is everyone stopping buying paints until its resolved?

No, continue. The workers strike for 2 hours per shift. It's clear they don't want the company to go under, and neither should we.

 Hanskrampf wrote:

 Rolsheen wrote:
Is everyone stopping buying paints until its resolved?

No, continue. The workers strike for 2 hours per shift. It's clear they don't want the company to go under, and neither should we.

Neither clients or workers wants this range to go away. We have been well served for decades and before the company reformulated and got sold to another firm things seemed to be just fine?
I personally waited 1 year for the new full sets to come over this part of the world and it's been what 2 years? and no sign of them. I see rare pictures of the full sets with influencers which aggravates my patience levels.

Currently the range is a huge mess, with old OOP bottles alongside some new bottles but never the full new range sets. Both old and new are competing for the same spot.

The reason Im wondering if its worth investing in this range future, its because the smoke alarm is on...
- Full range reformulated and redesigned
- New company takes over no one knows why.
- Availability of new stock is now very low and stores all say the same thing " we get them in small batches and not all colours at once" 2 years of this and is just systemic now, and a huge problem for any company.
- Workers complaining and striking regarding precarious working conditions. (red flag personally)

In short, I don't think the problem is any of us buying or the workers working, not even the paint quality or price, but rather what is actually this new firm intentions/agenda?

Until things unfold I will not fork £200+ on the new sets, even if available now.

The supply issues are likely also something the workers are really aware of. There likely isn't much if any store of product in the system, so what they make is instantly going on sale at retail. That means they know there's basically no sales buffer for them to strike before it kills sales and painters move onto using other ranges.

So yeah slow the production to make the problem a little worse to put pressure on the higher ups; but don't stop the system entirely.


I do wonder if some of the unsafe practice is as a result of a production system that's not coping with demand so workers are being put under more and more strain to cut corners/speed up and such. Ergo ending up working unsafe and with insane pressure - perhaps because of lack of investment in say a new machine or workshop setup or such.

The firm wants them gone for profit. ALL of them.

I saw this the moment they were bought, and anyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot.

 Rolsheen wrote:
Is everyone stopping buying paints until its resolved?

I would say yes, as to buy from them is to support the issues that the workers are striking against. Pressure from inside and outside is more likely to see the changes that they are striking for.

 Rolsheen wrote:
Is everyone stopping buying paints until its resolved?

If you want the strike to have maximum effect, continue buying. That will make the reduced output even more noticeable.

 parakuribo wrote:
The firm wants them gone for profit. ALL of them.

I saw this the moment they were bought, and anyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot.

Are you figuring on off-shoring or automation?

Odd strike style.


If I was running the show and output could be maintained with 2 hours per day of strike action by staff I would then:

Give the 15% wage increase.
Then fire 20% of the staff or cut hours by 20%. Or just do not hire new staff until levels dropped by 20%.

Also clean the factory and add safety features.

 Waaagh_Gonads wrote:
Odd strike style.


If I was running the show and output could be maintained with 2 hours per day of strike action by staff…

Quite the assumption you are making there. I would suggest that they are doing the partial strike precisely because it will lower their output without actually downing tools. It could also suggest (from what I’ve observed working in M&A) that they are probably overworked, meaning it’s the stuff they aren’t being explicitly contracted for that’s not getting done.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

 parakuribo wrote:
The firm wants them gone for profit. ALL of them.

I saw this the moment they were bought, and anyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot.

Are you figuring on off-shoring or automation?

They usually squeeze headcount first, either directly or by forcing people out through increasingly gakky working conditions and workloads - the latter is most common if they are trying to avoid expensive redundancies.

Roll Three Dice wrote:

Spoiler:

 Waaagh_Gonads wrote:
Odd strike style.


If I was running the show and output could be maintained with 2 hours per day of strike action by staff…

Quite the assumption you are making there. I would suggest that they are doing the partial strike precisely because it will lower their output without actually downing tools. It could also suggest (from what I’ve observed working in M&A) that they are probably overworked, meaning it’s the stuff they aren’t being explicitly contracted for that’s not getting done.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

 parakuribo wrote:
The firm wants them gone for profit. ALL of them.

I saw this the moment they were bought, and anyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot.

Are you figuring on off-shoring or automation?

They usually squeeze headcount first, either directly or by forcing people out through increasingly gakky working conditions and workloads - the latter is most common if they are trying to avoid expensive redundancies.

Mostly this! If I can recall, I remember a couple of Walmart franchises had people striking due to poor conditions, bad service, etc. Shortly after, they were closed for (checks notes)... bad pipes...

 Waaagh_Gonads wrote:
Odd strike style.

It's actually a pretty good idea from the strikers. The big problem with striking is you lose pay for the hours you aren't working. If they went on indefinite full-time strike I suspect most of the workers would run out of money within two months, at the most, which gives the employer an obvious advantage in negotiations. By limiting their strike action they still get paid a decent percentage of their full wage but still have a noticeable effect on production.

Slipspace wrote:

 Waaagh_Gonads wrote:
Odd strike style.

It's actually a pretty good idea from the strikers. The big problem with striking is you lose pay for the hours you aren't working. If they went on indefinite full-time strike I suspect most of the workers would run out of money within two months, at the most, which gives the employer an obvious advantage in negotiations. By limiting their strike action they still get paid a decent percentage of their full wage but still have a noticeable effect on production.

Plus if the firm has almost zero stock in reserve if the staff go on strike fully and supply dries up entirely; yes it puts huge pressure on the higher-ups; but at the same time for a product that's in a niche and isn't the only game in town it could easily see huge damage to sales. That means even if your strike wins, you'll likely still see layoffs and problems down the road because your product is no longer selling all that well even once supply is resumed.
Full strike action works if there's a surplus of stock so that you cause disruption not full shutdown of sales; or if you're market dominant and there's no one else to pick up the sales whilst there is reduced/no supply.

I use their sun yellow spray, getting hold of it in the UK is a pain in the arse as it is. This is bad news for me.

This feels like a bad idea from the workers, the reduced output will mean reduced sales, which will increase the likely hood of the whole operation being shut down.