Union leaders will fly out to Zurich in the New Year to plead with Vauxhall’s European managers to save 2,200 jobs at its Luton plant, Ananova reports. Bill Morris, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, will tell Vauxhall’s bosses that there is no economic justification for the redundancies.
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The union has not ruled out strike action in protest at the decision, but stresses that it wants to put its case to management first.
The TGWU vowed to step up its campaign to save the jobs after three hour talks between Mr Morris and Vauxhall chief executive Nick Reilly failed to reach a consensus on Thursday (14/12/00).
Mr Reilly told Mr Morris that the decision was inevitable and there was little chance of change. During the meeting Vauxhall workers took unofficial strike action across Britain.
Today a TGWU spokesman told Ananova that the fight went on.
“The meeting was positive because it was a chance to put the workers’ case to the company,” the spokesman said. “We don’t believe they are justified in closing down Luton.”
The spokesman said Mr Morris’s meeting in Zurich would be part of the union’s attempt to have “constructive input” on the problem.
“We feel they have identified the wrong solution. British workers are paying for the pain they have got across Europe.”
On the issue of strike action the spokesman said: “We haven’t ruled that out but we want to have talks with the company first.”
