Staff at van manufacturer GMM have been told they will no longer be paid for days when the plant shuts down.

Two down days have already taken place at the plant, and a third scheduled to take place on Friday will be the last for which staff receive their full rate.

Seven more down days for October have already been confirmed as the company, which makes the Vauxhall Vivaro, Nissan Primastar and Renault Trafic, tries to cope with the slump in the van market. More are expected to take place before the end of the year

Staff were told last week that they will now only receive the statutory guaranteed pay of £20.40 for any down days when they would normally be working.
The decision by bosses to withdraw full pay, including overtime and shift premiums, follows several meetings with union representatives.

Despite the gloom among workers, the plant has received good news this week with a boost in the sales of its Vauxhall Vivaro van.

Mr Chick said: "We were up in September on commercial vehicle sales by eight per cent compared to last September. The Vivaro was the UK's best selling van to retail customers, with 1,167 vans sold in the retail sector and a further 1,177 sold to fleet customers."