Workers’ fears over two-week JLR shutdown
JAGUAR Land Rover’s agency staff have spoken of their fears after they were stood down for two weeks.
JLR’s two-week production shutdown started this week as hundreds of agency staff were told not to turn up while other contracted workers take time off with full pay.
The luxury car giant announced the temporary closure of its Lode Lane plant in Solihull earlier this month.
In a letter agency staff were told JLR had experienced “poor sales during September”. It resulted in vehicles stockpiling up at showrooms across the UK as JLR reported total retail sales of 57,114 vehicles in September, down 12.3 per cent year-on-year.
Alarmingly, JLR saw a sales slump of 46.2 per cent in China for the same period.
Last week DHL agency workers at the plant were handed a briefing document outlining what the shutdown means.
The letter, dated October 17, explained a 100-bankedhours agreement which was originally drawn up in 2008.
It means DHL workers will be paid in full unless they exceed 100 hours owed, as a normal working week consists of 39 hours, or 78 hours across the two-week shutdown period.
A DHL worker at JLR in Solihull, who didn’t want to be named, claimed: “We’ve all been left in the dark as far as I’m concerned.
“Pay day is the 25th and nobody knows what we’re being paid. Will it be basic pay? Who knows?
“We all feel like we’ll be going into Christmas without any money, that’s how we’re all looking at it. It’s worrying. I’ve got a family.
“We haven’t been balloted on the shutdown and I’m fuming with it. I am getting paid though, but I don’t have a clue how much.”
Other agency staff are not so lucky, though.
Another DHL worker at JLR said: “I’ve managed to find work elsewhere but, over the two weeks, it’s going to be hit and miss.
“I will be going back there because of the uncertainty.
“People are saying the JLR bubble has burst and a lot of people I know aren’t going back after the two weeks.”
Elsewhere, JLR workers from other agencies such as Manpower UK and Blue Arrow have also been reportedly ordered to stand down, with some unsure if they will be missing out on wages.
Another worker told the Post: “Two weeks off and I still don’t know if I am getting paid.
“This has brought lots of financial worry and stress on me and my family.
“I’m just spending two weeks looking for a role where I will be appreciated and where I can pay my bills without worrying.
“I’m now looking for a complete new job away from JLR. The job security is not there anymore.”