‘Significant victory’

Cleaners at Ford in Dagenham are being recommended to accept an inflation-busting pay rise of three per cent for 2019, Unite has announced.

The 150 cleaners, employed by Hamton Environmental cleaning contractors, have also received a firm commitment that as market conditions improve, through future pay agreements, the management will pay the lowest paid cleaners at the Dagenham plant the London living wage, currently ÂŁ10.55 an hour.

Unite hailed this inflation-busting increase, backdated to January 1 this year, as ‘a significant victory’ for #HeartUnions week which celebrates the work of the trade union movement.

The cleaners will now be balloted on the offer and the result of the vote is expected in early March.

Unite regional officer Matt Smith said, “We welcome the company’s above inflation pay rise offer for some of the lowest paid workers in the automotive sector. We are recommending it to our members, following tough negotiations.

“This increase at Hamton Environmental does demonstrate that unions can deliver for an organised workforce and the commitments to the London living wage were key to this Unite recommendation,” he added.

“This pay offer is particularly good news as money in the car industry is currently very tight due to increasing Brexit uncertainty and the abject failure of ministers to formulate a comprehensive industrial strategy for manufacturing generally and the automotive sector specifically.”