New Holland Basildon staff set to strike over 'broken pay promise'

The strike action is set to 'severely compromise' the supply of New Holland tractors
The strike action is set to 'severely compromise' the supply of New Holland tractors

More than 500 workers at New Holland's tractor factory in Basildon, Essex will begin strikes later this month which will 'severely' impact production.

Unite the union, which represents the workers, said the strike was over the machinery company's ‘broken pay promise'.

The move is set to 'severely compromise' the supply of New Holland tractors from the sixty-year-old factory, which are shipped across the world.

Concerns are centred on the company reneging on an agreement struck in 2022, stating pay increases would be calculated by the average rate of inflation over the year.

CNH Group, which owns New Holland, is instead offering 4% for 2024, rather than the 7.4% it should be under the original agreement.

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

Unite the union points to CNH Group reporting record profits of £2.4 billion in 2023, with profits forecast to stay high for the next three years.

It also points to the firm's CEO Scott Wine receiving a total compensation package of £19 million 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 short-changing 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.”

The workers, comprising nearly the entire shopfloor of the factory, will strike on 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29 and 30 May.

More strikes will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved, Unite said.