Unite secures deals for agency workers
[ch 7: pages 59-60]BMW
In December 2013, general union Unite negotiated a successful deal with BMW to make 1,000 agency workers across the UK permanent, with guaranteed job security beyond 2020. The deal means workers will be able to join the company’s car scheme, get paid holidays, sick pay and be eligible to join the company pension scheme.
Equal pay for DHL agency workers at Jaguar Landrover
Coordinated industrial action by Unite members in 2013 at four Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) sites across the UK secured an equal pay deal for DHL agency workers working for the car manufacturer. The dispute was over the refusal to award agency workers similar terms and conditions to comparable direct employees. Unite executive officer Tony Woodley said the pay deal would provide “equality of pay” across workers at the four companies providing services to JLR, owned by India’s biggest carmaker Tata Motors. As a term of the deal, over 600 agency workers were to become permanent DHL employees.