98 job losses at Cammell Laird shipyard
GMB, the union for shipyard workers, has commented on the announcement from Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead that it intends to make 98 workers redundant.
This announcement is a shock to the joint trade unions and devastating news to the workers says GMB
The job losses were announced despite the news in November 2015 that Cammell Laird had won a bid for a £200 million, 2 year contract to build a new arctic survey ship.
Albie McGuigan, GMB regional officer, said "This announcement is a shock to the joint trade unions and devastating news to the workers and we believe that the 30 day minimum consultation period is not enough time to deal with the consequences of this decision and it should be extended.
To date only one formal meeting has taken place on the 18th of April. At that meeting GMB registered its disagreement with their decision based on the fact that the yard will soon start construction of its biggest project in many years.
After a mass meeting of members, the unions have offered to reduce costs for the company over the next few months by agreeing to cut two hours from the working week until the new project is started, or for them to suggest an alternative that will avoid compulsory redundancies. So far, no progress has been made and if we don’t get an agreement, notices of termination will be issued on the 11th May."
