FORD STAFF VOTE OVER JOBS FEARS
WORKERS AT CAR GIANT’S SOUTH WALES ENGINE PLANT TO BE BALLOTED OVER INDUSTRIAL ACTION IN ONGOING ROW
STAFF at the Ford engine plant in Bridgend are to be balloted on industrial action next month.
Workers will vote on whether to go on strike or take industrial action short of striking, according to a spokesman for Unite, one of two unions that represents workers at the factory.
The ballot will take place within the next few weeks with the result expected before the end of May.
It comes after months of anxiety among workers and unions about Ford’s long-term plans for the plant.
In February, it was reported that more than 1,300 jobs could go at the plant when production of two engines ends in 2020.
A spokesman for Unite yesterday said the vote on industrial action follows a consultative ballot of Ford Bridgend workers.
He said there had been a strong response from members to the consultative ballot indicating a high level of engagement.
He added: “We’re hopeful that the company will see there is a strong sense of urgency from the shopfloor that the company seriously talks with the union about plans to bring longterm work to the plant.”
Union representatives will be meeting with the company within the next couple of weeks before any formal ballot takes place.
In the ballot Bridgend workers will be given a range of options for possible industrial actions. Options short of strike action could include an overtime ban or work to rule.
A Ford spokesman said: “As we have consistently stated, Ford remains committed to on-going constructive dialogue with our union partners and we have proposed a dedicated work stream to examine future business opportunities for the Bridgend operation.
“We consider any ballot for industrial action to be premature given that the opportunity for productive engagement, in line with established employee relations and working practices, has been and continues to be readily available.”
The problems at Bridgend emerged last autumn when Ford announced that it was going to halve its planned production of the new Dragon engine, due to begin in 2018, and “significantly reduce” planned investment in the site.
Ford confirmed that instead of an investment of £181m to produce the family of all-new, technologically advanced, fuel efficient petrol engines, the initial investment would be £100m with a workforce requirement of 550 and not 750 people.
By 2020, the production of two other engines will have ceased at the plant. Jaguar Land Rover will end its engine production at the site in 2018, and the production of the Ford Sigma engine is to stop in 2019-20.
In February a leaked company document described the plant as “underperforming” and revealed plans to cut the workforce from 1,760 employees to around 600 by 2021 – a loss of 1,160 employees.
The document said overtime levels at Bridgend were more than double the rates at Dagenham, adding 6% to the cost of the engines produced. It blamed the plant’s under performance on absence, non-performance and work practices including paying staff allowances they are not entitled to and regular job rotation.
Unite gave Ford a March 1 deadline to offer concrete reassurances on the Bridgend engine plant’s future.
Union leader Len McCluskey told managers at the time that the car maker’s repeated failure to demonstrate that it had the long-term product strategy needed to sustain the plant had left the workforce increasingly fearful for their jobs.