Pirelli Offers Workers 3 per cent Rise

Pirelli Tyre has offered workers a total 3 per cent pay rise in a move that means the manufacturer can avoid strike action at its UK production plants, Tyres & Accessories has learnt. The new offer, which the Transport & General Workers Union described as “improved,” will be phased in from the beginning of 2007. Workers will first receive a 2.2 per cent pay rise in February followed by a further 0.8 per cent in June 2007. The total new pay deal equates to more than double the original 1.1 per cent pay increase Pirelli offered workers in April. “Pirelli believe this to be a sensible agreement which will enable us to move forward from our national dispute and will help to maintain the competitiveness of our industrial operations in the UK,” a Pirelli spokesperson told T&A, commenting on the news.