DUNDEE-BASED manufacturing company Bulkbag Containers Ltd signed up to paying the living wage in 2015.
The heavy industrial sewing company is one of the few manufacturing companies remaining in the city that still utilises skills learned and developed during Dundee’s jute textile heyday.
While the company’s roots were established in Aberdeen in the early 1980s, it relocated to Dundee in 1990 where, as a result of factory closures, there was a surplus of experienced sewing machinists on hand to aid with the growth of the business.
The company now manufactures 90-95 per cent of the products it sells, selling into most industries and to customers across the UK, the EU and the wider world.
Its products range from small polypropylene sacks to a large range of bulk bag specifications used for delivering and transporting products and materials in most industries, including the offshore energy industry where high dynamic forces are common and higher standards are demanded.
The company also produces unique flexible fabric formworks. These are used for shuttering concrete in voids, supporting pipelines, cables and general construction in the subsea industry.
Like most productive industries in the UK, the majority of Bulkbag Containers’ UK competitors are now merchants selling imported products mostly made in China, India or Turkey where exploitative employment and unsafe working conditions are routinely exposed.
According to Bulkbag Containers’ managing director Hamish Milne, the company felt it was important to reward and make the living wage commitment to their dedicated workforce, while at the same time allowing the company to be recognised by their customers as a manufacturer which treats and pays all employees fairly.
“It is widely recognised that social responsibility and ethical procurement are crucial for sustainable employment, a thriving economy and improved living standards – as a business Bulkbag Containers take these responsibilities seriously and would encourage all employers to do the same,” he said.
“It is important for everyone to feel valued and their contribution to be fairly rewarded. The Scottish Government’s campaign encouraging companies to sign up to the Living Wage Foundation’s pledge has helped raise the awareness and sets a minimum standard for employers.
“I’d like to see the government go a step further, supporting manufacturing companies like ours through a similar campaign encouraging businesses, local authorities and any companies involved in government framework agreements, where possible, to buy from local manufacturers with proven ethical standards which would help deliver sustainable employment and grow the local and national economies.”
With only a couple of other manufacturers remaining in the UK possessing similar sewing experience and machinery, Bulkbag Containers has decades of design expertise and can offer bespoke solutions and products with very short lead times where delivery is within a few days rather than the three months for imported goods.
As a result, the company relies on everyone in the workforce to play their part in producing quality products in the quickest possible time to meet their customer requirements – another reason Bulkbag Containers has introduced the living wage.
The living wage is an independently calculated hourly rate – currently £8.45 – based on the cost of living across the UK, ensuring employees can maintain a reasonable living standard. At the moment it is set at £8.45 an hour.
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