“I’m not making any promises that we’ll succeed..”

The International Representative for west Belfast, Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams, MP, MLA, is complaining of “almost a degree of chicanery” by Ford, the Visteon factory’s former owner [sold in 2000] and “sole customer”, and is urging the now former employees at the Visteon factory in west Belfast to “stay cohesive in terms of [their] demands.” You can watch Jamie Delargy’s report here. But in the BBC’s online report one of those former employees reveals that they were offered voluntary redundancy terms at Christmas worth “in excess of £40,000”. Having not taken that deal, they’re apparently just entitled to basic redundancy terms worth £10,500. In the same report Gerry Adams tells the former employees, “We will do our best. I’m not making any promises that we’ll succeed, but we will do our best to ensure that Ford do the decent thing, the just thing, the right thing.” But then, “there’s only so much you can do, isn’t there?” Adds Northern Ireland Employment Minister, Reg Empey, “Whilst it is not in my gift to create jobs, I am committed to supporting the individual employees who have been made redundant.” Update Second Jamie Delargy report for UTV Live. As I understand it, with their former employer, Visteon UK Ltd, no longer trading, the only redundancy package available is provided by the Government NI administration.

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