Bentley pay deal cuts hours and gives 6.5% pay rise

Employees at luxury carmaker Bentley in Crewe, Cheshire, are to have their basic hours reduced while their pay increases by 6.5%.

Union Unite has agreed a multi-year pay deal on behalf of over 2,000 workers at the Crew site which is backdated to the start of January, also gives workers a consolidated payment worth £900 over three years as well as the potential to earn bonuses linked to delivery, quality and efficiency.

The reduction in hours from 37 hours to 35 hours a week will come into effect in January 2019 and will result in no loss of pay. The agreement also provides for an improvement in company sick pay and holiday pay premiums.

Unite members voted in favour of what the union is calling a “groundbreaking” pay deal by a margin of three to one.

Phil Morgan, Unite regional officer, said: “Members have overwhelmingly supported this pay deal as they recognise that it provides a significant increase in pay as well as a dramatic improvement in conditions.

“This was an important deal for both Unite and Bentley as it allows the company to plan ahead, particularly in relation to new model development and gives members a great deal of security in what is a very uncertain time for car makers.

“By agreeing a multi-year pay deal all sides now know exactly where they stand as we continue with the countdown to Brexit. Without this multi-year pay deal there would inevitability have been an increasing amount of uncertainty, which is what all parties wanted to avoid.”

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