Unions at Land Rover in 24 Hour Stoppage

LONDON, January 23 -- - For Attention news/business/political/industrial desks

Amicus members at Land Rover will start 24 hour strike action from 6 am on Monday 26th January in rejection of the company pay offer.

Car workers at the Solihull and Gaydon Land Rover plants in the West Midlands voted in December in support of strike action following rejection of the company's pay offer of 6 1/2% over two years.

Workers say the 6 1/2% deal will not give them parity with other colleagues in Ford owned Jaguar and voted overwhelmingly to reject the offer by 82% in a ballot in October.

The action represents an escalation of union action, following the introduction of an overtime ban in December and withdrawal from the operating time flexibility agreement effective from the 5th January.

Duncan Simpson, Amicus National Officer for the Motor Vehicle Industry, said:

"It's with reluctance that we've moved to strike action but we hope the company will rethink their position and agree to negotiations.

"We've said we are prepared to meet the company at any time without preconditions. The ball is in their court."

Amicus have 2,500 members in the two Land Rover plants. TGWU and GMB trade union members at the plants are also taking strike action at the same time.