Scrappage boosts Burnaston back to full-time working
STAFF at Toyota's Burnaston car factory have returned to full-time working – but the company has re-emphasised that it will be for only a temporary period.
Since April, the 3,500 workers at the factory had been working a four-and-a-half day week – the equivalent of a 10% pay cut – due to a global drop in demand for new cars.
But in June, the company announced that Burnaston, which makes the Auris and Avensis models, would return to full working hours thanks to a surge in demand created by car scrappage schemes in the UK and mainland Europe.
Yesterday , staff embarked on a six-week period which will see them working a five-day week.
Toyota has not said how many extra vehicles it will be making. However, the Burnaston factory has been told that it needs to boost production quickly to meet demand, due in part to new registrations in the UK next month.
A spokesman for Toyota said: "We have returned to full working hours this week and this will continue until October, when we intend to revert back to a four-and-a-half-day week.
"In the meantime, we will continue to monitor the market closely and the ongoing success of the car scrappage scheme. Once again, we must stress that this is a temporary arrangement and not a return to full production. We remain significantly down on our full capacity."
Toyota will release production figures at the end of the year.
Tom Sawyer, regional officer for the Unite union, which represents workers at Burnaston, said: "It's really pleasing to see the car scrappage scheme having a positive impact. It is not only good for the car manufacturers themselves, but also their suppliers.
"Toyota has taken the right approach by taking things step by step. Overall I think this demonstrates that things are tentatively moving in the right direction."
Toyota is considering mothballing one of its production lines to maximise efficiency.
It currently has one line which makes the Avensis and Auris models, and another for the Auris only.
It is looking at using just one line to create both cars. The Toyota spokesman told the Derby Telegraph yesterday that discussions with staff on the proposals were "ongoing".
The move is not expected to affect jobs.
Comments
by Annon, derby
Tuesday, August 18 2009, 9:54AM
“What Toyota neglect to inform the press is that the total impact including the 10% pay cut and the changes in shifts actually equates to more like a 25% pay cut!! Not only that but all the messing around and chopping and changing of shifts has an incredible de-motivating impact on the workforce and a knock on effect on peoples work life balance, when they don¿t know where they are from one month to the next.
In addition to that making people take leave at the most expensive times of the year ie August- because they dictate when people have their time off is not exactly helpful when people are struggling due to pay cuts.
Maybe they ought to look at the number of staff handing in their notices left right and centre and the number on job websites to determine how well they are managing the situation ??”