Plymouth Trades Union Council

Support Visteon workers!

Workers at the Ford Visteon car parts plants in Enfield, Basildon and Belfast are at a crucial stage in their fight for jobs and justice. They need your help.

The Belfast plant has been in occupation for over two weeks and is still sitting-in. The Enfield occupation, which lasted nine days, ended last week on the recommendation of the union after action in the courts. But a strong campaign continues there, as it does at Basildon. The Belfast workers have burned the legal threats they were sent!

This is a crucial battle for jobs. By occupying their plants and mounting a major campaign, these workers have inspired many others. The bosses have massacred hundreds of thousands of jobs while the government simply looked on—and the union leaders offered little resistance. Now Visteon workers have shown how to hit back.

There could hardly be a more gross example of the way bosses are trying to make workers pay for the crisis. Visteon workers used to work for Ford. Nine years ago they were transferred to another company, Visteon. Documents given to staff at the time told them they would not lose out and would retain full Ford contracts.

All that has now been ripped up. Bosses simply informed some 600 workers at the end of March that the company was going into administration and there was no money to pay them for the days they had worked that week or offer redundancy pay, the chance of transfer, pensions, or consultation.

Around Britain trade unionists and local communities are mobilising support for the Visteon campaign. But the workers face formidable enemies. Visteon bosses hope to get away without paying anything, and there are strong rumours that leading figures in the company hope to buy the machinery on the cheap and re-open under another name—but paying lower wages. Ford has tried to wash its hands of its responsibilities, and the Labour government has left in place anti-union laws which bosses used against this basic fight for justice.

The key issue will be solidarity. All Visteon products should be boycotted - Visteon products are being used today in parts of the car industry. Bosses deliberately stockpiled components to see off a strike or occupation. Workers, especially at Ford, should refuse to use Visteon materials. Parts from Visteon Enfield are used on the Transit at Southampton and at other Ford plants and used on the Freelander Land Rover in Halewood. The Belfast Visteon plant makes parts for the Ford Fiesta.

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