Jaguar workers accept pay offer

Rallies against the closure of the Coventry plant will go ahead

Staff at Jaguar's three UK factories have accepted a 6% pay offer, split over two years.

Workers at the luxury car firm's plants in Halewood, Merseyside, and Castle Bromwich and Coventry, West Midlands, backed the increase on Thursday.

Staff will get a 3.3% increase this year followed by another 3% in 2005.

But unions say rallies will still go ahead against the closure of the Browns Lane factory in Coventry where more than 1,000 jobs are under threat.

Tony Murphy, of the union Amicus, welcomed the news, saying: "I am pleased that the membership have accepted the Amicus recommendation of what was a fair pay offer in the current circumstances.

"We look forward to working with Jaguar in maintaining future car production at all three of the Jaguar sites."

Jaguar managers rejected a plan to cut pension and sickness provision.