WORKERS at Oxford’s Mini Plant say they will suffer loss of earnings due to a two-week closure which began yesterday.
The factory stood down production yesterday with a spokesperson for Mini telling the Oxford Mail a combination of the situation in Ukraine and a shortage of microchips was the reason for the closure.
The spokesperson said on Friday that ‘no associate will go unpaid as a result of this stand down’.
Since then, one worker at the plant – who wished to remain anonymous – said agency staff were ‘not paid at all’.
The worker said: “BMW production line staff are getting 40 per cent of their wage.
“If you are a part of an agency, you are not paid at all and we’re told to look for alternative employment.”
Read again: Mini Plant set to close for two weeks
The staff member added that some associates are not being paid unless they have holiday.
A spokesperson for Mini said: “BMW and core agency associates at Plant Oxford are being paid 100 per cent of their base pay for the current stand down due to the supplied part shortages.
“Other service providers that work at Plant Oxford are potentially impacted differently by this stand down as they have different terms and conditions of work.
“Negotiations are ongoing with the trade union as to future arrangements to mitigate the challenges created by the current supplied part shortages.
“Normally 100 per cent of time credits would be debited for such stand downs – in this instance workers will only need to work 60 per cent of these hours.
“Using time credits is a standard practice that we have used for many years.”
Last month, the factory closed for a week due to a ‘global semiconductor shortage’ – essentially a lack of microchips.
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An initial statement from Mini on Friday read: “The war in Ukraine has a significant impact on the country’s automotive supply industry.
“Combined with the ongoing semiconductor bottlenecks, these supply limitations mean further adjustments to the Plant Oxford production schedule are required.
“We are assessing the situation and defining measures to secure production again as soon as possible.
“We are in constant communication with our associates and suppliers.
“We can confirm that no associate will go unpaid as a result of this stand down.
“The company and the trade union have agreed on how this is to be managed.
“Associates can choose to take holiday if they choose, but no one is forced to do so.”
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced last month that global sales of microchips totalled approximately £409 billion in 2021, the highest ever annual total, and an increase of 26.2 per cent compared to 2020.
The industry shipped a record 1.15 trillion semiconductor units last year, as chip companies ‘ramped up production to address high demand amid the global chip shortage’.
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