Sacked workers protest against US telecom giant

Workers in the North sacked without notice or redundancy by troubled US telecommunications giant Nortel are starting a campaign for compensation, they announced tonight.

Union Unite accused the company and its administrators Ernst & Young of flouting employment law to get rid of the workers without redundancy.

The 87 sacked by Nortel at Monkstown in Co Antrim in March were among 228 whose jobs went in the UK and some 3,000 worldwide.

Nortel’s UK operation went into administration in January after its parent company filed for US bankruptcy protection.

Unite said some of the 87 had missed out on thousands of pounds of redundancy from the company after working at the plant for 30-35 years.

The union claimed today that following the dismissals Ernst & Young had admitted to its officials they had “deliberately ignored the consultation legislation when sacking the staff”.

It added: “Documents obtained by Unite reveal that the company, in pre-planning the redundancies, had circulated to senior managers that the move was to be kept secret.”

Unite regional secretary Jimmy Kelly said: “Unite and its members are furious that agreed procedures on consultation, and indeed their legal obligation, had been swept aside as the company cruelly ejected the staff from their Northern Ireland site.”

Hot on the heels of the victory in getting a far better pay off deal for workers at closed car components company Visteon in west Belfast, Unite said it was mounting a fresh offensive.

Mr Kelly said: “We will be taking the fight to Nortel and the administrators in order to get justice for these badly treated workers.

“Companies should not be allowed to drive a horse and cart through recognised procedures. The penalty for companies being in breach of the legal requirement is a maximum fine of £5,000 (€5,500). This is a complete farce.

“The questionable action of the administrators saved the company thousands of pounds while at the same time management were being paid their part of a $43m bonus scheme.

“It’s an absolute disgrace.”

Senior members of the Stormont Assembly have committed to give cross-party support for the workers, he said.

“The whole trade union movement is demanding greater penalties for companies who deliberately and intentionally disregard minimal legislation that’s currently in place, and calls for the strengthening of the law and more severe penalties for those who disregard them.”

Sacked workers are beginning their campaign with a protest outside the Monkstown plant tomorrow followed by a picket of the Ernst & Young offices in central Belfast.