- Workers have rejected Ford’s offer of a performance-related pay bonus
- Unite said staff will start working under the rule and ban on overtime on June 14.
Hundreds of British Ford employees plan to go on strike later this month in a pay dispute.
Workers have “overwhelmingly” rejected the car giant’s offer of a performance-related pay reward, according to union Unite.
Unite said staff will start working to comply with the rules and overtime will be banned on June 14, adding that the strikes will “severely impact” all of Ford’s UK operations.
Rejected: Ford workers have “overwhelmingly” rejected the motor giant’s offer of a performance-related pay reward, according to union Unite
The employees taking part in the strike work at the company’s Henry Ford Academy in Daventry and factories in Dagenham and Halewood.
Strikes are also planned at Ford’s research and development facility in Dunton and its innovation center in Stratford, east London.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, said Ford has “decided to try and attack our members’ salaries out of pure corporate greed”.
He added: ‘Performance-related payments offer no guarantee of a real pay rise and expose these workers to the danger of pay cuts.
“They are absolutely right to go on strike and have the full support of Unite to do so.”
Unite further claimed Ford had worsened the dispute by failing to engage in “meaningful negotiations”, including with conciliation service ACAS, despite staff gaining union recognition last year.
In addition, Alison Spencer-Scragg, one of its national managers, accused the American automaker of “completely ignoring” the collective agreement it signed with employees in 2023.
She said: “It is completely unacceptable that Ford is trying to impose a corporate performance model that undervalues the contribution of this key management group to the company’s success.”
Ford said: ‘We regret that this result was reached taking into account the fair and balanced offer made and the competitiveness of our LL6 pay and benefits package.
“We will continue to engage with Unite and our employees and endeavor to resolve the matter.”
Ford reached a major agreement with the United Auto Workers union last November following a six-week strike that paralyzed activity at factories in Chicago, Louisville and Wayne, Michigan.
The strike was the first national strike to affect Ford in the United States since 1979 and the first to simultaneously affect all of Detroit’s “Big Three” automotive firms: Ford, Stellantis and General Motors.
Under the deal, Ford staff will receive a record 25 percent pay rise over four and a half years and the right to strike over any plant closures during that period.
