Workers at Rolls Royce UK car plant win record pay deal

Thousands of workers at luxury carmaker Rolls Royce Motor Cars have agreed a pay deal worth up to 17.6 per cent, trade union Unite said on Friday, calling it the largest single pay deal in the history of the factory in southern England.

The trade union said over 80 per cent of workers at the plant in Goodwood, West Sussex, took part in the vote to accept a one-year deal expected to be worth between 14.8 per cent and 17.6 per cent for worker grades represented by Unite.

The deal comprised a 10 per cent pay increase and a one-off payment of 2,000 pounds ($2,433.40), the union said. The package is one of the higher deals agreed by a workforce in Britain in recent months.

Rolls Royce did not have an immediate comment.

The pay settlement comes as workers across Britain and other European countries seek higher wages in response to soaring inflation caused in part by the rising cost of energy following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

While some sectors in Britain have successfully negotiated wage increases the country is currently gripped by widespread strikes affecting rail, health and postal services, amongst others.

($1 = 0.8219 pounds)