Strike talks at Belfast aerospace company

Union leaders at troubled Belfast aerospace company Shorts are meeting today to discuss a management proposal which it is hoped could end the current strike.

The Amicus union said it had agreed a document with management which it will recommend with shop stewards at the east Belfast company today.

Peter Williamson from Amicus said he believed the document had a formula for settling the dispute which has seen 4,000 employees on strike since last Wednesday.

“After some lengthy discussions with the company we have reached a document which we believe had a formula to settle this current dispute.

“That particular document will be put before shop stewards this morning and they will either endorse or otherwise that decision,” he said.

The strike began last week over the introduction of afternoon shifts and fears over redundancies.

Mr Williamson said the possible compromise did not cover the dispute about pay and conditions but, if agreed, would enable negotiations to take place.

Officials from the Transport and General Workers Union have not yet agreed the document but said that it was still negotiating with management. They are meeting again today to try to reach agreement.

The strike at Northern Ireland’s biggest manufacturing company is the first of its kind in 20 years.

Although it centres around the issue of an afternoon shift and threatened redundancies, it is part of a dispute which has been running for six months after Shorts workers narrowly rejected a four-year pay deal.