Civilian workforce supporting armed forces furious over redundancy
changes
6 July 2010
Unite, Britain's biggest union, has expressed fury that its
15,000 members who have been working flat-out to support the armed
forces in Afghanistan now face huge cuts in their redundancy
pay.
Francis Maude has confirmed that the government intends to cap
redundancy pay for civil service workers. Unite represents 15,000
civil servants at the MoD which support the armed forces who will
be affected by these changes.
500 workers at the MoD's St. Athans maintenance hanger now face
substantial cuts in their redundancy pay, with the site due to
close in the near future. This civilian workforce is highly
skilled, motivated and committed to supporting the frontline.
Hundreds of civilians at St. Athans have been working overtime
of up to 16 hours a day to support the war in Afghanistan. The
union will hold a meeting with the St. Athans workers tomorrow
(Wednesday 7 July) to consider the next steps.
Speaking after a meeting today (Tuesday) between unions and
senior government officials from the Cabinet Office, Kevin Coyne,
Unite's national officer for the MoD, said: “MoD staff who have
been working tirelessly to support the armed forces are furious
about these changes. Our members at St. Athans have worked
diligently to meet timescales and deliver aircraft for use in
Afghanistan, even though they knew they faced redundancy. They have
done this out of commitment to the country and the armed
forces.
“The Con-Dem government has stabbed these workers in the
back.”
The union is demanding an urgent meeting with Francis Maude and
will be vociferously lobbying parliament to seek changes to the
bill.
ENDS
Contact: Ciaran Naidoo on 07768 931 315
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