According to the Financial Times Ford Motors have postponed giving a substantial pay increase to its 3,400 Halewood employees because maintenance men at the plant have rejected a now shift system, This co-incides, gays the Financial Times with the management's announcement of a scheme for encouraging a family atmosphere. National Union officials agreed on March 14th that in exchange for rates of pay at Halewood being brought up to the Dagenham level, the management could introduce a system of double day shifts, The two day shifts were to be the equivalent of the day and night shifts worked at Dagenham, Agroement was then reached at local level for the production workers to operate the agreement from next Monday, Skilled workers were expected to gain about £2 a week, semi-skillod 36/and unskilled 31/-.
The trouble arose anong 400 maintenance men who were under the impression that the double shift did not apply to them, and they refused to work it. Fords claim that they ean only allow the increase if the double shift is worked by all employeas., The two shifts were to have lasted from 6.35 aem. to 3.pem. and 3 p.m, to 11,25 p-m. with a 25 mimite meal break for each shift, thus allowing the plant to be in continuous work for most of the days