The French owners of Ellesmere Port’s Vauxhall car plant should invest in the plant’s future, Britain’s biggest union believes.
The call, from Unite the Union, came as workers at the North Road factory backed a pay deal.
Unite insists owners PSA should ‘repay the commitment of car workers at Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant with investment in new models at the plant after the workforce overwhelmingly backed a pay deal and a number of items for change’.
Just over three quarters, 76%, of Unite members at the plant backed the deal which will see workers receive a £750 lump sum and an additional 1.5% pay rise in January 2019 according to the union.
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The pay deal mirrors the one that was overwhelmingly backed by van workers at Vauxhall’s Luton plant last month.
As part of the deal car workers will see a 30% reduction in what are known as ‘banked hours’, meaning it will take workers two-thirds of the time it currently does to pay back hours that are banked during plant shutdowns.
Changes include the introduction of PSA work standards and the introduction of a new approach which brings together maintenance engineers and production workers into one team.
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: “Unite’s Vauxhall members at Ellesmere Port, like their colleagues at Luton’s van plant, have overwhelmingly backed the pay deal.
“I’d like to thank our convenors and members for all the work they have done. Our continued focus is to secure investment from PSA in new models at Ellesmere Port and guarantee the plant’s long-term future.”
He added: “Time and again Ellesmere Port’s top class workforce has shown its commitment to the plant. PSA must now repay the workforce’s commitment by moving forward with investment in new models at Ellesmere Port as a matter of urgency.”
