Ford Workers In The UK May Strike By 3,000 In The Near Future

(CTN News) – The U.K.’s largest Ford automaker warned Wednesday that 3,000 white-collar workers might strike after rejecting the company’s pay offer.

Ford has refused to negotiate despite the fact that its offers for salaried staff and managers have been rejected by more than 90% of both groups of workers.

Ford was warned that if the union did not attend negotiations via Acas, the U.K.’s independent conciliation service, it would begin balloting its members on potential strike action. The event would be held at sides across the country, from Liverpool to Essex.

According to Unite, salary offer to many salaried staff is “an unconsolidated one-off payment of 5% of their salary for 2024, meaning their actual wages will not increase.”

“Performance-related bonuses,” which provide no guarantee of cost-of-living increases, were allegedly offered to management-grade members.

A cost-of-living crisis has hammered real wages and household bills across the U.K.’s public and private sectors in recent years.

The company has been in pay negotiations with employee representatives since last year, as its previous two-year deal came to an end.

Despite union members rejecting offer internally, Ford remains willing to continue negotiations through our established bargaining frameworks on the fair and balanced offer.

In addition, Unite claimed that had proposed changes to the current absence process,

Despite Ford’s admission that staff attendance was not a problem.

Ford’s offers of one-time payments and variable bonuses are driven by corporate greed. As one of the most profitable companies in the world, it can to offer these workers proper, no strings attached pay offers,” Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said.

We do not tolerate attacks on our members’ jobs, pay or conditions, and salaried and managerial staff have the full support of their union.”

In its fourth-quarter earnings report last week, Ford delivered better-than-expected earnings before interest and taxes, or EBIT, of $10.42 billion on revenue of $176.2 billion.

Alison Spencer-Scragg, Unite’s national officer, said workforce had rejected these unacceptable pay offers.

Unite will have no choice but to begin proceedings to hold a formal ballot for industrial action if continues to refuse to attend Acas talks. In light of this, I urge Ford to reconsider its stance.”

SEE ALSO:

GM Confirms Equinox EV Starts At $34,995. 319 Miles Range.