More than 600 BMW workers to strike over pay

Staff walked out at the Hams Hall plant in Coleshill on Tuesday

A number of BMW staff walked out on Tuesday in a protest over pay in which more than 600 workers have voted to take industrial action.

Unite the union says staff at the BMW Hams Hall plant in Coleshill, Warwickshire, are striking following a nearly yearlong negotiation over a 2024 pay increase with the company.

"[Staff] are sick of being treated as second class employees and fed up with the company's broken promises," said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham.

BMW said it was "disappointed" that industrial action was taking place, and that it had made a "fair and considered pay offer".

Strikes are now planned for 23 and 25 February, plus 4, 5, 6, 25 and 28 March and 1, 2, 8, 9, 15 and 27 April. Different departments from the site are set to take action on each day.

Unite said industrial action would intensify if the dispute was not resolved.

The union said that since spring last year, BMW had rescinded offers, offered half what BMW colleagues in Oxford had received in 2024, and put forward conditional deals that would see longstanding bonus agreements attacked.

Unite added that staff accepted below inflation pay rises for 2022 and 2023 to assist the company, which it said made 12 billion Euros in net profit in 2023, during what the union described as the height of the cost-of-living crisis.

Natalia Stepnowska, Unite's regional coordinating officer, said members felt "undervalued"

Natalia Stepnowska, Unite's regional coordinating officer, told the BBC: "We took a soft approach. Unfortunately it doesn't look like BMW is appreciating that and taking the members seriously, so it looks like in a couple of weeks' time we will be escalating strike action.

"BMW needs to smell the coffee. They need to get to the table, take serious action and put forward a proposal that is closer to our members' expectations.

"Members feel undervalued and taken for granted. There is an immense frustration in the plant.

"This is a workforce that, in my view, is usually quite accommodating and reasonable when it comes to pay talks with the employer."

The workers voting to take industrial action comprise nearly 90 per cent of the Hams Hall factory workforce.

The plant predominantly produces engines for use at the company's Oxford site.

Jason Powell, plant convener for Hams Hall, said the plant contributed "massively" to BMW Group's profits

Jason Powell, plant convener for Hams Hall, told the BBC: "What we've asked for is under what our sister plants in the UK received in 2024.

"We've got a very good workforce here who contribute massively to the BMW Group's profits. All we're asking for is a fair share of that profit.

"In the 20-plus years of this plant existing, the workforce have never been unreasonable in any pay claim and aspiration."

He added: "The union is always willing to discuss measures to ensure that our priority is to maintain jobs, as well as pay.

"We're always willing to negotiate with the business, however we don't want it to feel like a dictatorship. It has to be a mutual agreement."

A statement from BMW said: "We are disappointed that the Hams Hall workforce has rejected the latest pay offer and has started industrial action. The plant has implemented contingency measures and continues to operate as usual [on Tuesday].

"The company has made a fair and considered pay offer and is open to continued constructive negotiations with the Plant Council and Union representatives. Further talks are planned to take place this week."