Tractor factory workers to strike over ‘pay betrayal’

More than 500 workers at a New Holland tractor factory in Basildon, Essex, are set to strike in May over pay disputes, the UK’s leading union says.

Unite claims workers at the CNH Industrial factory are angry that the company has reneged on an agreement struck in 2022, stating pay increases would be calculated by the average rate of inflation over the year.

CNH is instead offering workers a 4% pay rise for 2024, but Unite says this should be 7.4% under the original agreement. For 2025, the company is offering the rate of inflation as of December 2024.

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CNH Group reported record profits of £2.4bn in 2023, and profits are forecast to stay high for the next three years. Chief executive Scott Wine received a total compensation package of £19m in 2022, which was the equivalent of 310 times the pay of the average worker at CNH Group.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham accused the company of “trying to rake in even more profits by short-changing its workers”.

She said: “The pay deal with CNH was agreed in good faith and the company’s extremely healthy finances show there is absolutely no reason whatsoever for it not to be adhered to.”

The workers, comprising nearly the entire shop floor of the factory, plan to strike on 14-16 May, 21-23 May and 28-30 May. Unite says more strikes will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved. 

A CNH Group spokesman said the company was “committed to reaching an agreement and we are keen to work with the union to resolve this situation.

“We will negotiate in good faith and trust that the union will do the same.”