WORKERS at Swindon's Mini Plant could vote for industrial action after bosses were accused of putting forward an 'insulting' offer.

More than 2,000 employees at BMW's factories are set to lose out in a move to scrap the final salary pension.

The union Unite has warned that some staff could lose six-figure sums but BMW has argued that the change is necessary to address a pension scheme deficit.

Members said yesterday that the firm offered workers a one-off payment of £7,000, a figure United described as a 'drop in the ocean' compared to the '£160,000 retirement income' which some could lose.

Norman Gough, convenor at the firm's Cowley plant, said: "This was quite a ludicrous figure really considering the amount of money some members could be short of when they retire.

“They came in and put it on the table. It was a laughable figure.

“It’s not peanuts we are talking about. It’s a huge amount of money.

“They know they are not going to have it easy. We are going to fight this all the way.”

From today members of the union will be asked to vote on taking industrial action in protest at the changes. The ballot will be open for three weeks and close at noon on Friday, March 31.

In a letter sent out to Plant Swindon workers yesterday, a spokesman for Unite told employees: "The trade union have again requested mass meetings with our members but this has not been granted up to this point in time. The next meeting with the company is scheduled for Wednesday, March 22."

Mr Gough , who has worked at the plant for more than 30 years, said he expected to get an ‘overwhelming’ mandate from the workers affected.

He added: “We are just making our intentions clear. If they want to put a figure on the table, that’s up to them.

“For any of our members to consider that, it would have to be a damn sight higher

“The ball is in the company’s court. We have to go take them on because what comes next?”

The proposals by the German car giants would see the current final salary pension scheme end, with workers instead moved to a ‘defined contribution’ scheme.

This would mean the maximum pension an employee could receive would fall from 40 per cent of their wage to 26 per cent.

The firm, which builds about 1,000 Minis a day and has a total workforce of 4,500, plans to make the changes from May 31.

Unite chief Len McCluskey said when he visited the plant on Monday that he was fully prepared to call for industrial if negotiations didn't go the union's way.

Yesterday BMW said it would raise its dividend after sales and earnings rose in 2016, announcing after-tax profits of 6.9 billion euros.

Talks aimed at trying to resolve the dispute over the changes to pension schemes broke up earlier this week without agreement, with both sides agreeing to meet again on 22 March.

Unite national officer Tony Murphy said yesterday: “BMW’s UK workforce has worked hard and contributed massively towards to yet another year of record results.

“It is simply shameful that their reward for making a record number of Minis and Rolls Royce cars should be the threatened closure of their pension.

“BMW’s penny pinching bosses need to wake up to the sense of betrayal, which is growing over their broken pension promises, and the strong possibility that workers will back industrial action.

A BMW Group spokesman said: ‘BMW Group has always prided itself in providing excellent pensions for all its staff and wants to act now to protect future pension provision.

“Discussions are ongoing and a further meeting will take place later this month.”

Voting in the industrial action ballot closes in three weeks’ time on March 31.