9:15am Thursday 23rd October 2008
By Simon Carr
WORKERS who downed tools and walked out of Southampton’s Ford factory may face the sack, the Daily Echo can reveal.
The company has issued a thinly veiled threat to employees at the Southampton plant in which it claims itmay be “forced” to fire protesters who it blames for putting the future of the plant in further jeopardy.
Hundreds of employees walked out of the plant an hour before their Monday shift ended in protest at Ford’s plan to slash output from 75,000 vehicles to just 35,000 chassis cabs, cut jobs and export Transit production to Turkey.
In an employee bulletin leaked to the Daily Echo, Ford management also stated that those involved in the walkoutwould be docked pay for the time they missed and if sacked would not get their benefits.
The statement read: “I would ask you to consider the possible adverse consequences on the employees of a dispute.
“If the company is forced to lay off employees as a result of the dispute, they would not be eligible to receive income security benefit.
“Consider the impact on the Southampton plant, any formof any disruption damages our reputation and will not support our case for future investment and sourcing.”
Campaigner Nick Chaffey, of the Nation Shop Stewards Network (NSSN), said the company’s aggressive reaction showed the impact the unofficial demonstration had had.
He said: “This is typical of their heavy-handed management. Did they really feel they could just continue telling staff nothing without any reaction?
“Many of the workers feel that continuous action is the answer and I imagine this bulletin would have gone down badly in the plant and made the workers unhappy.”
Bobby Noyes, president of Southampton Trade Unions Council, criticised Ford bosses and their treatment of workers.
She said: “Despite what Ford may think we do not live in a slave state and the workers have every right to withdraw their labour and make their voices heard in the only way they can.
“If Ford has started whingeing about this it shows it’s had an effect and I think far more people walked out than the company is letting on.
“This threat is the sign of aweak company telling people ‘you do this again and you’ll be the first to go’ and it is not right.”
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