Eighteen workers face redundancy at profitable West Belfast plant
Unite to consult members on response to management plans
February 13th: Unite Regional Officer, Jackie Pollock expressed his union’s outrage at management proposals at Andor which will see eighteen workers made redundant at their west Belfast plant:
“This decision is completely unjustified in light of the continued profitability of the Belfast plant. The workforce at Andor has displayed a high level of commitment to the company during its transfer to Oxford Instruments and this announcement represents a betrayal of that loyalty.
“This decision reflects the impact of the global downturn on Oxford Instruments, which is highly leveraged as a result of its acquisition activities. It does not reflect the situation in Andor itself which remains highly profitable with a strong demand for its cutting-edge products. The job losses are doubly inexplicable at a time when the plant is more and more reliant on overtime – just this weekend they have again notified the workforce of a possible requirement for overtime working.
“This decision is indefensible. We will be meeting our membership and representatives to discuss our response”, Mr Pollock concluded.
Unite the Union, Ireland Region 
Sham redundancies targetting those whose face don’t fit. Management refuse to stop overtime which has been offered to those “at risk”! factory open 7 days a week as usual for overtime – redundancies not genuine.
We’ve expressed all your views in the media and to the company. The best possible response to this is to raise our membership in the workforce to 100% to ensure fair treatment and fair pay for workers. During the consultation we were fighting to safeguard all eighteen jobs – not just our bargaining unit.