New Holland tractor plant staff strike over pay
© FLPA / Wayne Hutchinson/REX Shutterstock More than 450 staff at a New Holland Agriculture tractor plant staged a strike over pay and conditions.
Workers at the New Holland Customer Centre, in Basildon, Essex, walked out at 11.45am on Wednesday (30 September).
A group of workers formed a picket line outside the plant as part of the 24-hour strike action.
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Officials from the Unite union held talks with senior executives at New Holland last week. However, they were unable to resolve their differences.
A spokesman for Unite said: “The strike action is essentially over a pay dispute.
“The hard-working staff are being asked to take on more technical and skilled work and we think they should be rewarded for that.
Further strike action is planned for 9, 14, 23 and 30 October.
In the meantime, Unite said New Holland management had requested for further talks on 13 and 15 October.
The plant in Basildon employs over 1,000 people, of which 500 are involved in tractor production. Many workers are from generations of the same family.