Lappet Manufacturing’s Carlisle site produces state-of-the-art handkerchiefs for the Saudi Arabian market, according to Mr Hall.

“Predominantly the men at the bottom work on the looms and the women, who do the weaving work, are at the top,” he said. “These are highly skilled jobs.”

He said “there didn’t seem to be any pay structure for anyone” and many of the women were on “minimum wage”.

“If the targets are not met, they are basically excluded from doing overtime,” he claimed.

Lappet Manufacturing said it “questioned the validity” of Mr Hall’s statements.

It said “punishment targets, adverse conditions or overtime criteria” had not been brought up by the union in the past eight months of negotiations.

A spokesman said staff at its Carlisle headquarters had received more than 12 per cent pay rises in 2022 and 2023 and offered a 3.9 per cent rise for 2024.

“We believe this is in line with industry norms and business constraints,” the spokesperson said.

Mr Hall said the proposed pay rise was not good enough and staff, including some who had worked at the site for more than 30 years, “deserved more”.