BMW workers set to stage five one-day strikes in protest against pension cuts
Workers at BMW’s Hams Hall engine plant are set to stage a series of 24-hour strikes in protest against the company’s closure of its final salary pension scheme.
The workers, who stand to lose thousands of pounds as a result of the pension changes, will be involved in five of eight one-day stoppages company-wide called following a ballot conducted by trade union, Unite.
The strikes which will be combined with an overtime ban and work to rule, involve up to 3,500 BMW workers and also affect the MINI production facility at Cowley, the MINI body panels centre in Swindon and the Rolls-Royce factory in Goodwood.
The first industrial action is scheduled to take place on April 19 and be spread over five weeks.
The walkouts will be the first ever by BMW’s UK workforce and follow a 93% vote in favour of strike action by the Unite members.
The union said the strike action was liked to significantly disrupt production at the various sites.
Workers have expressed alarm over BMW’s plans which could see some UK workers lose up to £160,000 in retirement income. Last week a delegation of BMW UK workers headed the carmaker’s headquarters in Munich to protest and hand in a petition accusing bosses of ‘pension robbery’.
BMW’s plan to close the pension scheme by May 31, 2017 comes as figures last month showed an 8% improvement in
BMW Group’s net profit to €6.9bn, as well as a record year for MINI sales and a 6% rise in Roll-Royce sales.
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: “BMW’s refusal to talk about affordable options to keep the pension scheme open means a sizable chunk of its UK workforce will be taking strike action for the first time in the coming weeks.
“Bosses in the UK and BMW’s headquarters in Munich cannot feign surprise that it’s come to this point. Unite has repeatedly warned of the anger their insistence to railroad through the pension scheme’s closure would generate and the resulting industrial action.”
BMW said it was “disappointed by Unite’s industrial action”.
A spokesperson for the car manufacturer said: “The company has put a number of options on the table to help employees transition to the proposed new pension arrangements and it remains open to negotiation.”
