GMB
members Vote By 7 To 3 To Accept Jaguar Land Rover Deal To Stave Off Compulsory Redundancy For Two Years
5 March 09
Union
members at Jaguar Lands Rover accept 1 year pay freeze and 4 day week to save jobs
GMB members, along with members
of Unite have voted by 70% to 30% to accept a 1 year pay freeze and a 4 day week in return for no compulsory job losses for
the next 2 years. The vote, on the deal which had been hammered out by union negotiators over the past month, took place over
the last 2 weeks and there was a very high turnout in the ballot.
Bert Hill, GMB Organiser said,
"We did not want our members in Jaguar Land Rover
(JLR) to be faced with the same fate as the thousands of others who have been dismissed in other companies.
Our members in JLR deserve better
- much better. The management agreed with our view that, when this unprecedented recession ends, the retention of a skilled
and loyal workforce is an integral part to the ongoing success of this business.
The unions and our members were
faced with a difficult choice, but no less difficult than the choices we have had to make in recent times. When the business
was sold to Tata we faced up to that challenge together and delivered the best possible agreement which safeguarded our plants
and our members' jobs. We did not work hard for that to see wholesale redundancies less than 12 months later.
The choice for our members was
clear - further mass redundancies or what is undoubtedly some short-term pain in order to secure the future for our members
and their families.
Only the latter could have been
in the best interests of our members. The harsh reality is that some of our members would have faced the prospect of a future
of uncertainty and little prospect of quality employment for the foreseeable future."
- Ends -
Contact: Bert Hill, GMB Organiser on 07809 828112 or Samantha Jones, GMB Birmingham & West Midlands Regional Media Administrator
0121 550 4888 or GMB Press Office: Steve Pryle on 07921 289880 or Rose Conroy on 07974 251823.
