Mexican Media Brands
Union Threatens Strike at BMW Plant in U.K.
Britain's Unite union is preparing to ask its 2,000 members at BMW AG's Mini plant in Oxford, England, for strike authorization after workers overwhelmingly rejected down the company's final contract proposal.
#labor
Share
Britain's Unite union is preparing to ask its 2,000 members at BMW AG's Mini plant in Oxford, England, for strike authorization after workers overwhelmingly rejected down the company's final contract proposal.
BMW offered a 2.2% hike in base pay, an additional 1.8% raise for working an extra 30 hours per year and a 2% team bonus, according to union officials. But they complain that the bonus is structured so that most workers will receive no more than 1.3% of base pay.
The additional work time would come from reducing tea breaks by 11 minutes per day. That would give employees 42 minutes of paid break time, plus an unpaid lunchtime, during an 11-hour shift.
The strike vote process typically takes six to 10 weeks in the U.K. Unite has accepted BMW's offer to continue negotiations during that period.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Young Auto Engineers Say Their Employers Don’t Measure Up
Only one-third of U.S. automotive engineers below the age of 36 agree that their work experience matches the way their employers’ portray themselves publicly, according to new research.
-
Marchionne Cancels Trip to Paris Auto Show
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne has cancelled a planned appearance at the Paris auto show on Thursday.
-
GM, PSA Execs Rush to Build Support for Opel Sale
Top executives from General Motors Co. and PSA Group are scrambling to build support among alarmed European government and labor leaders for a plan to integrate GM’s Opel unit with PSA.