POLICE were called to a Trowbridge company on Friday, March 15, after allegations that staff were being pressured to join a union.

Representatives of the Graphical, Paper and Media Union (GPMU), were outside The Cromwell Press at the White Horse Business Park.

Director Allan Hicks said: "About six of them were standing right outside the works entrance.

"They are using bully tactics and my staff are being intimidated."

Mr Hicks said that some of his 70 staff members had come to him with concerns about the way they were being approached.

"I haven't got a problem with my staff being members of a union but I do have a problem with them being pressured. I am a member of this union myself but I will be leaving as I can't belong to a union that uses tactics like this."

GPMU organiser, Gavin Brooks, said that no-one was being pressured to join and that the union was responding to queries from staff.

"We were contacted by members of staff who wanted to join.

"If more than half the workforce join the union the company has to recognise that by law and we were explaining this and handing out leaflets."

Mr Hicks said visitors leaving the building have been targeted as well as staff members.

He said: "They make it very difficult for people to enter the building without talking to them and they even walk across the car park and talk to someone getting into their car.

"Some aren't even employees, they are just visitors."

Mr Brooks said he had only given out leaflets to staff members but it was possible visitors had been approached.

He said: "Maybe someone has handed a leaflet to someone who isn't a worker, there is no way to distinguish them but the leaflet would just be irrelevant to them."

Mr Brooks's job as a union organiser means that he helps companies to set up a GPMU union.

"Handing out leaflets is something that we fairly commonly do but it is not the preferred approach, which is to be able to talk to people in the workplace," he said.

"That needs the management to agree to a partnership approach which wasn't possible in this case."