Unite threatens Jag with strike over pay deal
MEMBERS of Unite have rejected Jaguar Land Rover’s pay offer, with the union warning the company to begin renegotiations or face an industrial action ballot.
In a consultative ballot, 96 per cent of Unite members across the carmaker’s five plants rejected the proposed pay deal.
According to the union, “anger is also mounting over the dilution and threatened changes to the final salary scheme”. These changes include £240m worth of pensions cuts.
The plans also sought to set a target of six years for new starters to reach 100 per cent of the job rate, and the union said members were worried that bonuses, which were not consolidated or pensionable, would gradually replace pay rises. It also stated that the proposed pay deal fell short of expectations and “failed to recognise the workforce’s contribution to last year’s profits of £2.5bn”.
Unite national officer Roger Maddison said: “The workforce made huge sacrifices and endured pay freezes during difficult times to ensure that Jaguar Land Rover is the success it is today. With the company making a staggering £10m profit a day, it is no surprise that the workforce is angered by pension cuts and a pay offer that falls short in recognising their role in that success.”
He added: “JLR needs to get back around the negotiating table and hammer out a deal that meets the workforce’s expectations and shares the rewards of the company’s success fairly. Otherwise, we will be looking to ballot our members for industrial action across the company’s five sites.”
A spokesman for Jaguar Land Rover said the company was “very disappointed that the trade unions have voted to reject its pay and conditions offer”.
He added: “We remain committed to reaching a negotiated settlement.”