Land Rover workers to strike again

Up to 1,000 vehicles a day are made at Land Rover's Solihull plant

Workers at Land Rover will stage a second strike in a dispute over pay, union leaders have announced.

The walkout will hit the car factory at Solihull, West Midlands, on 9 February unless there is a breakthrough to a deadlocked row over a rejected two year pay offer of 6.5%.

Union leaders wrote to the Ford-owned company calling for a resumption of talks to avert further industrial action.

Production was halted on Monday because of a 24-hour strike, which the company warned would put the long-term future of Solihull at risk as it would be "increasingly difficult" to justify new investment.

Company's future

Duncan Simpson, national officer of Amicus, said: "It's in the best interests of the company and our members to resolve this dispute quickly.

"So far, Land Rover has only offered to meet to clarify the existing pay offer, but we've written to the company today to urge them to enter into meaningful pay negotiations to secure the long-term future of Land Rover in the West Midlands."

Workers say they are under-paid compared with colleagues at fellow Ford-owned company Jaguar.

Land Rover says its final offer of a 6.5% pay increase over two years is "significantly" above the rate of inflation and industry settlements in the UK.

The firm said no vehicles were built in Solihull because of the 24-hour strike on Monday, but added it was business as usual at its site in Gaydon, Warwickshire, where managers and other white collar staff work.