UNION bosses have revealed they rejected a fresh ‘insulting’ offer from BMW made in a bid to prevent further walkouts at Oxford’s Mini Plant.
Unite union said company representatives at the German car manufacturer had made a ‘crude attempt’ to ‘buy’ their retirements on the cheap, as discussions between reps and plant chief continue.
It comes as the workforce at Cowley plant to strike on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday next week, which is expected to halt Mini production as previous walkouts have done.
Unite said following their most recent meeting, BMW has ‘agreed to further meaningful talks’ to ‘explore all options’ for the future of the final salary pension scheme. The firm wants to close the scheme, which union bosses claim workers will face a loss in ‘excess of £160,000 in retirement income’.
United said the company had proposed in their most recent offer to close the scheme and pay out 45 per cent of a worker’s salary in pensionable pay over three years. A statement released last night said: “Pure and simple our reps believed this was nothing more than a crude attempt to buy our hard retirements on the cheap. BMW’s offer went nowhere near compensating the loss of retirement income we will al face if the pension scheme closes.”
Senior rep and Body in White worker Roland Higgs said the union had the mandate to keep the final salary pension scheme open. He added: “The feeling is to keep it going and to keep it going in the same form. It’s a major impact on their retirement futures.”
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