Rooks as i t twin cranes of Samson and Goliath will continue to siand over the Bellas! skyline for a few more years. Management has announced a conditional £400 million contract with a Norwestar company for four roll-pack ferries. However the workforce is Most of Harland's workers believe they have been taken and union officials.
At a fraught unions meeting on May g. ony 35 votes separated the 'no' from the 'yes" vote relating to a 'final management offer' which involved a massive erosion of workers terms and conditions. The offer plan. of intimidation of the workagainst. Closure threat Workers were told they cord accept the new terms and conditions or Harland's managemr a would tum down the new offer of work and close down the yard.
Union officits had to work extremely hard to sell the deal to a hall of deeply alienated workers maintaine tat unc company would not sign a sunival. prospecte 1400 contract wan a Norwegian customer without a yes vote to tie restructuring In the end the vote came out unions. as 424 in favour and 389 Some 1,800 staff at the shipyard were living under a 90 day redundancy notice. workforce has had to accept around 350 redundancies, a freeze for three years with a basic wage of E310 per week and a short-ome working week when ever the management believes it to be necessary tor longer.
George Matchett, an official with the GMB welcomed the yes vote on behalf of the Sell out However dozens of workers stormed out of the meeting complaining of a 'sell-out and Several workers interviewed after the vote said that they would now start oolang for a new job rather than accept the latest terms and conditions.
The cold draft of alienation will continue to blow through the shipyard for a little while Harland in its heyday
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