Unite, Britain's biggest union, has sent an e-petition to 250,000 members urging them to support 600 workers from Visteon, who were sacked with only a moment's notice, without redundancy pay, or their company pensions.
Unite believes Ford were complicit in this action. Now hundreds of workers and their families face a very uncertain future.
Unite is campaigning for proper compensation and for the sacked workers to be given jobs at Ford. At the beginning of this year Visteon had in excess of $1 billion in the bank. Unite believes the company can easily afford to pay for a just compensation package. Ford also remains a major Visteon client, the company was the workers' former employer and could utilise these workers' skills as they approach retirement age.
The e-petition is in response to the fury expressed to the union by the public over the company's callous behaviour and to step up the pressure on both Ford and Visteon to end the misery of the 600 now jobless workers.
Unite's joint general secretary, Tony Woodley, said: “We are asking a quarter of a million members to send a clear message to companies like Ford and Visteon that their behaviour will not be tolerated. We intend to show the UK government that the British people want justice for workers, now.
“This shameful behaviour has to end. UK employment laws must change to stop the callous mistreatment of UK workers.”
Unite's joint general secretary, Derek Simpson, said: “Visteon has thrown our members on the dole, plunged their pensions into uncertainty and denied them redundancy pay that is rightfully theirs.
“I say to Visteon and Ford, you cannot wash your hands of these workers. They must do the decent thing by the workers and their families. Secure them work and compensate them justly for sacking them in such an atrocious manner.”
The e-petition can be found at: http://www.savemanufacturing.co.uk/sayno
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