Jaguar mass meeting likely to end strike

THE GUARDIAN
By our Labour Correspondent

A strike by 800 line workers at Jaguar's Coventry assembly plant which stopped all production of the new XJ6 series last week is expected to end this morning. Management and shop stewards met on Saturday to work out a peace formula to put to a mass meeting today. Last week the strikers had agreed not to meet until Thursday, a week after the walk-out in defiance of their shop stewards recommendation, in a row over work measurement on the new model.

The highly profitable company company originally put forward a two-year deal worth £12.50 in new money, plus £8.75 bonus consolidation and an increase in the maximum bonus potential. The offer was described as worth 14 per cent over two years on the current skilled rate of £156 a week. Since then , the company has offered a further 1 per cent of new money in the first year of the deal.

The unions put in a claim for a £20 a week wage increase, arguing that profit in 1986 will exceed £135 million , a £14 million increase on the previous year.