JCB shopfloor employees have voted to accept a 2.6% pay rise as part of a newly-agreed three-year wage deal.
The agreement was reached following a vote by GMB members and resulted in around 3,200 employees receiving the pay rise from January 1.
The increase is linked to November’s Retail Price Index. Increases in 2015 and 2016 will also be linked to those years’ respective November RPI figures.
The latest deal followed the expiry on December 31st of a three-and-a-half year pay deal agreed in 2010, which was the longest pay deal ever agreed at JCB. Graeme Macdonald, who took over as CEO on January 1, said, “We are pleased to have reached agreement again on a long-term pay deal for JCB’s UK shopfloor employees.
“It’s very welcome news and gives us the stability and forward visibility we need to plan ahead as we gear up to face the challenges and opportunities we will face in 2014 and beyond. The agreement also demonstrates a very responsible approach by all concerned.”
The new deal comes on the back of an announcement that JCB is to invest £150 million in the next five years to create 2,500 jobs expanding its UK manufacturing operations.
GMB Works Convenor Gordon Richardson said, “A three year pay deal does give us some guarantees for the future. This year’s team of GMB negotiators for the group has achieved an excellent outcome under some very tough bargaining conditions. The deal compares very favourably to those being struck at other companies both regionally and in the UK.”
Meanwhile, JCB’s UK employees received a £400 Christmas bonus. Around 5,000 employees shared in the festive payout, worth a total of £2 million.
