Vauxhall anger grows

Unions say the campaign against closure will continue

Unions have stormed out of talks with Vauxhall management, threatening to step up their action against plans to close the car plant in Luton.

More than two thousand jobs will be lost when manufacturing of the Vectra model stops in fifteen months time.

Vauxhall has said that it is very unlikely the decision will be reversed and no consensus was reached after three hours of discussion.

Union leaders are now expected to meet with Vauxhall's European management in the New Year, as part of their campaign to reverse the company's decision.

'Inevitable'

They also say they will consult with union colleagues in Germany over any possible future action.

"We demanded the right to put our case to the decision makers," Bill Morris, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, said.

But Vauxhall chief executive Nick Reilly said: "I told them it was an inevitable decision and there was not much chance of it being changed."

During the meeting, unofficial strike action took place around the UK.

Vauxhall workers in the UK downed tools while production at the company's Ellesmere Port factory in Cheshire was hit when employees took unofficial strike action in sympathy with their colleagues.

And workers at a Vauxhall warehouse in Luton also walked out.

Angry demonstration

It also followed an angry demonstration on Wednesday by 200 workers who marched into Vauxhall's Luton offices in protest at the decision by US parent company General Motors to close the plant.

Police assist a security guard at the Vauxhall HQ protest

Police were called to restrain the workers - although no arrests were made - and Mr Reilly later addressed the angry crowd outside the building.

Transport and General Workers Union general secretary Bill Morris has demanded to know from Vauxhall why it is closing the plant.

"The T&G, in common with the rest of the British public, reject the shabby treatment dished out to our car industry by manufacturers," he said.

"Once again we are seeing a British solution enacted to a global problem because our workers are easier and cheaper to sack."