nissan

Nissan has agreed a two-year pay deal for 7,400 of its employees, which includes an increase in pay and paid maternity leave.

The deal, which affects staff based at NMUK in Sunderland and the Nissan Technical Centre Europe (NTCE) in Bedfordshire, will come into effect from 1 January 2017.

Employees will receive a 2.75% pay increase and a £750 lump sum in 2017, to be followed by a further 2.75% pay rise in 2018. Paid maternity leave will be extended from 18 weeks to 26 weeks, effective from 1 January 2017.

The deal was accepted by 68% of the workforce.

Tony Murphy, national officer for the automotive industries at Unite, said: “This is excellent news for this hardworking and dedicated workforce which has been in the vanguard of the renaissance in the UK car industry in recent years.

“It is a good deal that both rewards staff and secures future employment at what is a challenging time ahead for the British car industry; we are particularly pleased about the increase in maternity pay.”

Nissan had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.