Tractor shortage warning

UNITE union is warning of a tractor shortage as 500 workers plan to go on a two-week pay strike at the Case New Holland (CNH) factory in Basildon, Essex.

Factory work is to be hit as workers walk out in anger at being ‘betrayed’ over the ‘super-profitable company’s broken pay promises’. But despite hundreds of sta downing tools, the multinational corporation remains confident there will be no disruption in the supply of tractors.

The fallout has occurred due to CNH reneging on a pay agreement which was struck during 2022, according to Unite. The union believes that CNH is not fulfilling a promise to calculate wage rises by the average rate of inflation over the year.

It says that CNH is instead o ering 4% for 2024, rather than the 7.4% it should be under the original agreement.

For 2025, the company is o ering the rate of inflation as of December 2024.

The union points out that CNH Group reported record profits of £2.4bn in 2023, and profits are forecast to stay high for the next three years.

Meanwhile, CEO Scott Wine received a total compensation package of £19m in 2022, which was 310 times the pay of the average worker at CNH Group.

Unite general secretary Sharon

Graham said: “The pay deal with CNH was agreed in good faith and the company’s extremely healthy finances show that there is absolutely no reason whatsoever for it not to be adhered to.

“CNH is simply trying to rake in even more profits by shortchanging its workers. Unite never accepts attacks on our members’ jobs, pay or conditions and the CNH Basildon workforce have their union’s total backing in taking strike action.”