Car parts firm strike continues

A strike at a Coventry factory which makes components for car engines has gone into a fifth day.

About 190 people out of a workforce of around 300 at Federal-Mogul have been on strike over claims staff were asked to work more hours for no extra pay.

The union Unite said the firm had warned the plant could close.

Federal-Mogul said it had no intention, nor had it ever planned, to close the Coventry plant as long as the operation was able to remain competitive.

Roger Maddison, national officer at Unite, said bosses had previously threatened that if people did not make changes to the way they worked, the plant "could be starved of work over the next couple of years" and "could eventually close".

We don't believe them

Roger Maddison, Unite

He said: "What we've said to the company is quite clear.

"If you've got that threat there, that we could close in a couple of years' time, then at this moment in time we want putting into people's contracts something that will give them some sort of financial security if that was to happen.

"The company's backtracked a little bit and said: 'We're not going to close. We're going to work there.'

"We don't believe them."

'Bridge the gap'

In a statement, Federal-Mogul said it was disappointed many of its Coventry employees did "not understand the gravity of the current situation".

It said the company had to improve productivity at its global operations, especially "in this difficult market environment".

The firm said: "Federal-Mogul employees from across Western Europe have agreed to a longer work week to help bridge the gap between higher costs in their local (labour) market and low-cost (labour) markets."

It added that the firm would continue to work to arrive at a resolution in the best interests of everybody, and hoped workers would consider doing the same.