AGENCY workers at the Cowley Mini plant were not allowed to take part in a crucial vote which led to them being sacked, the Oxford Mail can reveal.

On January 14, permanent staff were asked to vote on whether to agree to more shutdowns at the plant, which would safeguard the jobs of all workers, or to agree to a change in the shift pattern which led to the weekend shift being cut and the 850 agency worker redundancies this week.

But agency workers were excluded from the vote, despite being fully paid-up members of the Unite union.

One union member, who is also an agency worker, said: “We pay the same amount as contracted staff into the union, but we don’t have the same rights.

“We can’t go to the meetings and we have no right to vote.

“When we asked the union why, they said their hands were tied. I think it’s totally wrong.”

But plant union convenor Bernard Moss said the vote had followed an agreed legal procedure which has always been employed at the plant.

He said: “The problem is the core workforce is contracted to BMW. Any agreements we have for shift changes are only decided by BMW people, not agency labour.

“We have always been told that any changes to pay and conditions need to be done by BMW people on contracts. If agency pay is under negotiation then agency staff vote on that.”

Mr Moss said last year the plant lost 48 shifts thanks to extended shutdowns, the longest of which ran for almost a month.