Car workers in Britain and Ireland show how to fight back
On 31st March workers at Visteon plants in Belfast, Enfield and Basildon were told that they were being sacked. Visteon UK had been placed into administration and the workers, who had only been given a few minutes notice, were told to leave without the redundancy pay that they should have been entitled to. Angry at the news and the way they were being treated, workers at the Belfast plant, did not simply go home as was demanded, instead they took the decision to fight back and occupy their factory. News of action taken in Belfast provided inspiration for workers at the Enfield plant in North London to occupy the following day, while workers at Basildon, who attempted occupation but were driven away by riot police, set up 24 hour pickets at their factory in Essex. Over the course of the next few weeks through their resistance and determination, and despite legal challenges, workers forced Ford to give in and offer out thousands of pounds in redundancy payments.