More than 500 production factory workers employed by agricultural machinery firm CNH have accepted a two-year pay deal, ending a long-running dispute.
The workers, who are based at the firm’s Basildon, Essex factory, are members of trade union Unite. As a result of the deal, they will receive a weekly pay rise of £40 for the first year, with many seeing their wages increase by up to £100 a week in the second.
They decided to strike as they claimed their employer had reneged on an agreement from 2022, which stated that pay increases would be calculated by the average rate of inflation over the year. The workers said that earlier this year, CNH offered them a 4% rise for 2024 instead of the 7.4% under the original agreement, and that for 2025, it offered the rate of inflation as of December 2024.
In addition, CNH’s chief executive officer Scott Wine received a £19 million compensation package in 2022, which was 310 times the pay of the average worker.
The employees went on strike on multiple dates throughout May, and further action had been scheduled for mid to late June. This was suspended for a new pay offer ballot, but more strike dates would have been announced if it had been rejected.
A CNH spokesperson said: “CNH has been notified by Unite that its members at the Basildon Plant accepted the proposed pay deal. We are pleased to have a fair, equitable pay deal in place, which not only benefits our workforce but also fortifies our commitment to customer excellence and competitive presence in the global marketplace.”
Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite, added: “The pay deal with CNH was agreed in good faith and its healthy finances show that there is absolutely no reason whatsoever for it not to be adhered to. Unite never accepts attacks on our members’ jobs, pay or conditions and the CNH Basildon workforce have their union’s total backing.”
