Wednesday: Workers and their families are called on to attend a mass meeting at 4pm
Friday: March for jobs from Unite Ballymena offices to gates of Wrightbus site where rally will be held
September 30th: Unite Regional Secretary Jackie Pollock today confirmed that his union would be mobilising members for a campaign to save jobs and skills at the stricken Wrightbus factory in Ballymena. The union has scheduled a rally for the workforce and their families at the Ballymena showgrounds this coming Wednesday (October 2nd) at 4 pm. At noon on Friday (October 4th), a ‘Save Wrightbus Jobs & Skills’ march will leave Unite Ballymena offices and proceed to the Wrightbus gates where a second rally will be held.
“Unite is determined to secure a future for our members in Wrightbus and for Ballymena, we will be ferocious in our campaign to save these jobs.
“Instead of hand-wringing and honeyed-words, we need to see action now from government and the Wright family. They must hand back the land to the people of Ballymena and remove any obstacle to the gates of the site reopening and our members getting back to work.
“Unite will not sit back and watch as twelve hundred jobs are offered as a sacrifice to the interests of one family. We need to see urgent action – the clock is ticking on these jobs and hope for Ballymena’s economy”, he said.
Unite Regional Officer for Wrightbus, George Brash, confirmed his union had arranged a rally and march in coming days as the campaign to save Wrightbus jobs gained momentum.
“We’d like to thank everyone involved in securing the main stand at Ballymena showgrounds for a rally for the workforce and their families. The stadium will be open at 4pm on Wednesday for a rally to demonstrate the urgency of our campaign.
“At noon on Friday Unite will organise a save Wrightbus Jobs & Skills march which will leave our Ballymena offices and proceed along the Galgorm road where workers will hold a second rally at the gates of the Wrightbus site, Wrightbus workers will be joined by other trade unionists including those occupying Harland and Wolff. Our members will accept nothing less than the action needed to reopen the doors and let them get back to work. This is a fight not just for the twelve hundred workers facing redundancy but for the future of Ballymena. It is not a fight we can afford to lose”, Mr Brash concluded.
Unite the Union, Ireland Region 