ANDREW Smith, the Oxford East MP, is correct to call for constructive negotiation between the union and BMW over proposed changes at Cowley’s Mini plant.
No one wants to see working conditions reduced and surely you’d worry about your staff if they compliantly allowed them to be swept in – it would hardly be indicative of a vibrant workforce.
The proposals include closing off the final salary pension scheme for new permanent staff and a reduction in the basic rate for new agency staff, broadly, it would seem, to pay for improvement in other conditions to bring greater parity with staff employees.
The union warns darkly of industrial action but it needs to remember the state of the car manufacturing industry in this country.
It is not what it once was, but BMW Cowley is one of the success stories in the modern environment and many other companies have closed off their final salary schemes.
The reduction in basic wage for new agency staff is, unfortunately, a predictable offshoot of the new legislation improving elements like redundancy pay. It was naive to think any company would just add such elements on top of its cost base without seeking to balance it elsewhere in the ledger. But we would also push with Mr Smith for the company to consult and listen to staff to find some middle ground.
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