Thousands of BL men vote to accept 6.8%

Thousands of BL workers who sought a strike a fortnight ago over a 6.8 per cent pay offer yesterday voted to accept it. Only two of seven plants which voted yesterday rejected the proposed deal but the key decisions will be made by the men at Cowley today and at the big Longbridge plant next Tuesday. The union recommendation to accept the offer received its first setback from workers at the Austin Morris component plant in Birmingham where 80 per cent of the 2,500 manual workers rejected it. At the Unipart factory at Cowley 1,100 workers voted by a two-to-one majority to reject the recommendation.

First to vote were 2,500 workers at the Rover saloon plant in Solihull, who accepted the offer when it was put to them two weeks ago At the Swindon body plant about 3,000 hourly-paid workers overwhelmingly backed their union leaders, recomendation.
At the Jaguar assembly plant in Coventry about 3400 workers voted by a four-to-one majority to accept: Almost 2000 workers at the Jaguar engine factory in Coventry voted by the same majority for acceptance. About 500 workers at the Land-Rover component plant in Birmingham voted to accept by a small majority.