200 Visteon car plant workers in Belfast are blockading their factory after the Company went into administration today. If they get away with it, over 600 workers in ex-Ford factories in Belfast, Enfield and Basildon will be sacked and left to claim statutory redundancy form the state. Even workers with over 30 years service will only get about 9 grand and most workers a lot less.

Also, their pensions plus those of ex-Visteon workers in Swansea and retirees will go
into the Pension Protection Fund, which will result in reduced payments. This
is the brutal side of capitalism – no bailouts or bonuses like the bankrupt fat
cats but bare minimum pay outs and the dole. Visteon UK executives have jumped
ship are now employed by their own spin-off ‘Visteon Engineering Services’. A
life raft for rats escaping the sinking ship!

Visteon was spun-off by Ford in 2000 as a device to slash costs at the expense
of the workforce. Two and then three-tier contracts then followed as well as
outsourcing of ‘indirect’ jobs. However, for Visteon bosses this wasn’t enough.
They’ve spent the last 3 1/2 tears demanding that Visteon workers break their
Ford ‘mirrored’ contracts. No doubt there will be some in the unions who will
agree with management that if only the workforce had agreed cuts in their pay,
pensions, terms & conditions, insolvency could have been avoided. The reality
is however, that Visteon like General Motors’ spin-off Delphi was never viable.
Visteon workers were correct to resist and have had at least more income by
doing so. It was that successful battle that has given the Belfast workers the
confidence to resist now.

These workers want to put pressure on Ford to intervene to stop the sackings.
They are appealing to the unions in Ford to support them by not using parts
shipped in to replace those from Belfast. If that fails, the occupation can be
built to involve the trade union movement and working-class community to force
the government to intervene to nationalise Visteon to save these jobs.

Messages of support / offers of help to John Maguire Belfast Unite Convenor -
07816590380