Unions and Management Reach Agreement at Peugeot's Ryton Plant

Strategic Insights -

Unions and management at Peugeot's Ryton plant have reached an agreement on new working hours for production workers. The deal includes a 36-hour working week, including all breaks, and job protection for 900 workers taken on last year to start a third production shift. The new deal follows difficult negotiations between the two sides, but union negotiators believe the benefits will now start to show.

Key Takeaways:

  • The agreement includes a 36-hour working week, including all breaks, for production workers at Peugeot's Ryton plant.
  • Union negotiators gained job protection for 900 workers taken on last year to start a third production shift.
  • The 900 workers had been given jobs on "inferior contracts" and would have been the first to go if production of the successful 206 model fell back.
  • Peugeot plans to build 200,000 of the 206s this year, up from 160,000 last year.
  • Union officials argue that the new deal is an improvement over the original proposal from management, which included a 35-hour working week with a cut in breaks.
  • Ford engineering, technical, and clerical workers voted to accept a pay and pensions deal, ending a dispute that included a brief walk-out.
  • The deal includes an 11% pay rise over three years and a commitment from Ford to a job evaluation programme.
  • Unions threatened to strike over the dispute but ultimately voted to accept the settlement.

Statistics:

  • 4,000 production workers will be briefed on the agreement in the next few days.
  • 900 workers will be protected from potential job cuts due to the new deal.
  • Peugeot plans to build 200,000 206s this year, up from 160,000 last year.
  • The pay rise for Ford employees will total 11% over three years.
  • The dispute at Ford was resolved after staff from the Transport & General Workers Union and MSF unions voted three to one to accept the settlement.

Sources:

  • "Unions and management at Peugeot reach agreement on new working hours" by an unspecified news organization (exact date and publication not specified)
  • "Ford workers accept pay and pensions deal" by an unspecified news organization (exact date and publication not specified)
  • "Mazda denies plans for job cuts and line closures in Japan" by an unspecified news organization (exact date and publication not specified)
  • "Ford submits bid for Daewoo" by an unspecified news organization (exact date and publication not specified)