WORKERS at Vauxhall have voted in favour of strike action in a row over pay and conditions.
A staff ballot at the Ellesmere Port plant closed yesterday and 1,172 members backed industrial action with 398 against.
Now the union has up to one month to take action, but must give mangers seven days notice before walking out.
Members will meet on Saturday to set a date.
John Featherstone, TGWU representative, said: "We have a clear mandate for strike action.
"People are clearly not happy with what is on offer and have shown that in the voting.
"The company has not got anywhere near to addressing our claim. Now we have to wait and see if they put a new offer on the table that is acceptable to our members.
"We have 28 days from today to inform them of our intention to strike and will be meeting on Saturday to discuss what happens next.
"Unless there is a change in the company's proposal then we have a clear mandate to strike and we will do what we have to do."
The company wants to lock the workforce into a two year pay deal.
Negotiations began in September when staff rejected a 0.5% wage increase.
Since then Vauxhall has come back with a 3% deal for the first year but attached a number conditions to it.
The workers are objecting to plans to cut the length of short term contracts from six months to three and alterations to the pension scheme.
Staff are also against changing their pay from weekly to monthly.
The two sides have now reached stalemate, with the company refusing to change the conditions and the unions insisting it will not accept the offer as it stands.
Unless further negotiations are successful the workers will walk out.
It comes as the company confirmed 110 voluntary redundancies have been made. Up to 230 shop floor workers are expected to leave over the coming months through early retirement or voluntary packages. Around 400 members of staff have applied for the pay-off and are being vetted by management.
The cuts are being made as part of the 12,000 losses across Europe announced by Vauxhall's owners General Motors last year.
Last October 120 casual jobs were also axed.
David Crundwell, business manager at Vauxhall, said: "We are extremely disappointed at the outcome of the vote at Ellesmere Port and we are holding further talks with unions about the way forward."
samlister@dailypost.co.uk
