BMW faces a New Year of unrest over employment rights and
pensions
8 December 2011
Unite, Britain's biggest union, has warned car maker BMW that it
could face industrial action in the new year unless it reverses
plans to close its pension scheme to new starters and use legal
loop-holes to deny agency staff equal pay.
BMW met with senior officials from Unite to inform them that
they intended to close its final salary pension scheme to new
starters and last week it declared its intention to exploit a legal
loop hole called the 'Swedish derogation' to deny agency staff
equal pay with employees after 12 weeks of employment.
Unite National Officer Roger Maddison said:
"BMW face a New Year of unrest unless the company reverses its
plans to attack the pension scheme and erode the rights of agency
workers by exploiting legal loopholes. Unite believes exploiting
these loopholes to worsen the rights of agency workers is
immoral."
"Yet again a wealthy company has jumped on the Coalition
government's band wagon by attacking pensions and eroding
employment rights.
"Unite led the way in convincing the last Labour Government that
to improve employment rights for agency workers, we will not stand
idly by and watch our members being short-changed because of a
legal loophole."
Unite is planning to meet all shop stewards at BMW early in the
new year to organise a campaign of resistance up to a including a
ballot for industrial action if necessary.
An increasing number of employers are seeking to avoid the
application of equal rights for agency workers by applying "the
Swedish Derogation". This will allow employers, in conjunction with
agency businesses, to avoid equal pay by directly employing the
agency workers on contracts.
ENDS
Contact: Ciaran Naidoo on 07768 931 315
http://touchstoneblog.org.uk/2011/09/the-swedish-derogation/
