Ford workers balloted on strike action

Ford workers at Dagenham, Bridgend, Daventry, Halewood and Dunton are being balloted. Photograph: Ian West/PA

Thousands of Ford workers are being balloted for strike action in a row over job security and pensions.

Members of the Unite and GMB unions will vote on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action aimed at safeguarding jobs after recent cuts led to Ford ending 100 years of vehicle production at its plant in Southampton.

Unite has accused the American carmaker of leaving UK workers to bear the brunt of cuts, in the wake of the decision to move production of the Transit van from Britain to Turkey.

Roger Maddison, Unite's national officer, said: "Ford workers in the UK are always on the frontline when the company wants to axe staff. After successive rounds of job cuts including the closure of the Southampton plant, staff now want Ford to make some commitments to job security going forward. This is not an unreasonable request but the company is refusing to give its loyal UK workforce and their families some well-deserved rights in line with their EU counterparts."

Maddison said workers were also angry that the company is refusing to look at ways to improve its pension scheme: "Workers on the production line feel they have no choice and are balloting for strike action to get the company back around the negotiating table."

The unions are balloting production line workers across the company's six UK sites, including two in Dagenham, where Ford's female machinists staged a landmark strike for equal pay in 1968. Their struggle, which paved the way for equality legislation, was brought to life on screen in the film Made in Dagenham.

Workers at Bridgend, Daventry, Halewood and Dunton will also vote on strike action.

A spokesman at Ford said that company had a long-established practice of working with the unions. He said: "In 2011 a two-year agreement was reached and we re-entered discussions in 2013, recognising the priority for industry-leading levels of cost, efficiency and competitiveness. This process has been completed for some employees but is still under way between the company and unions for other areas of the workforce. There is nothing further to add regarding these negotiations."